On The News
I spent hours writing a column. It was political. Controversial. So I wanted to get it right. I checked my facts, again and again. Which led to more fact checking. I worked to get quotes accurately attributed to their sources. And I wrote with the passion that comes from desperately wanting others to understand my point of view—however unpopular—hoping my efforts would at least mildly temper some opposing convictions.
And then my computer froze. It’s a new computer. It’s not supposed to behave like my old one did. But I lost everything I wrote.
I tried to begin again—immediately—while the ideas were fresh in my mind. But I was too frustrated. My words were not streaming as smoothly as they had prior. Which was leading to anger—and that doesn’t help at all.
Some folks would see it as a sign—God, or the universe, or whomever is “in charge,” does not want me to write this. Does not want me stepping on so many toes.
Some would say I subconsciously sabotaged myself, in attempt to keep me from publishing something so contentious.
I was too deflated to entertain either notion. I closed the computer and went out into the garden to unwind. Maybe I just wouldn’t submit a column this week.
But the garden overwhelmed me. The vegetation was thick, and I had to cautiously sort weeds from viable food sources or flowers. To do a good job, one must comb through the individual plants, yanking the intruders while protecting the useful seedlings. It’s a learned skill that takes some effort to apply. I have been gardening for years and have collected a great store of knowledge for how to determine the good from the bad, the useful from the bothersome. How to get at the roots of the infiltrators. How to recognize the look-alikes—like those weeds that pretend to be tomatoes plants.
It struck me that this was rather like sorting through the news. The worldwide web has the capability to overwhelm. To blur fact with fiction. To inspire faith in fallacy. One must use caution in selecting which “facts” to believe, and which to discard. This, too, is a learned skill. One that can be taught, but often isn’t. Or at least not with great emphasis.
My combative opinion supported by quotes and facts mined from sources I regard as staples of reliability is not essential. If folks read the news and form valid opinions based on trustworthy sources, they will reach supportable conclusions on their own. They don’t need me to sway them.
And if they haven’t learned to differentiate a reliable source from a foul fanner of fictitious flame, my well-researched opinion, however logical, is not likely to alter their outlook.
So, in lieu of a contentious political opinion, I’ll leave you with these suggestions:
- Support your reliable news sources. Subscribe to the periodicals whose reporting you trust. Only by keeping these folks afloat will be able to earnestly understand and uphold what is right for our democracy.
- If you are a parent or a teacher, emphasize lessons on how to decipher fact from fiction or opinion, how to
recognize reputable sources, and when to question even those reliable sources.
It is the careful and forthright use of our news reporting systems that will safeguard our future—and our right to express our testy opinions.