Tired of Being Misled!

September 19, 2020 ~ Dr. K ~ Leave a comment

“False testimony my be refuted, but once it is voiced, everyone repeats it” Proverbs 21:28 as translated by Rabbi Rami M. Shappiro

Ok, so have you visited social media any time recently? Or how about have you watch the news on TV or cable? Have you read the newspaper? If the answer is yes, then you may agree with me that it seems like there is no way to know what is true any more. Raise your hand if you agree.

I may just be speaking for myself, here, but I am really tired of reading posts or watching stories that are filled with “spin.” It seems like every person’s goal is simply to prove their own point of view without consideration for what is actually true or right or good or valuable. There are so many examples of this that it is hard to decide which ones to use. Here is one.

On a recent newscast a reporter declared that President Trump had contradicted his own leading scientists regarding the expected availability of a vaccine for the corona virus. They went on to play a recorded clip from the President followed by one from the head of the CDC as proof of the contradiction. They also threw in a clip from Dr. Fauchi to further support their contention. On the surface, it appeared their complaint was valid. But wait a minute…

A simple review of the larger context of the statements by all three people reveals that maybe the story is not quite so simple. It turns out that the President was talking about how quickly a vaccine might be available to distribute to a broad segment of the population that are most at risk from the virus while the CDC Director was talking about how quickly the vaccine would be available for the “majority” of Americans. Those are actually two very different things. And, to top it all off, it turns out Dr. Fauchi agreed with both the President and the CDC Director.

What bothers me the most here is not whether or when a vaccine will be available. What bothers me is the apparent effort by the media to twist the facts of the story (because after all, these are all facts) in order to promote a narrative that attempts to discredit the President. I know they don’t like him. I know they don’t agree with him. I know they would like to see him voted out of office. But this is a form of deception that is insidious and dangerous. It threatens our culture because it diminishes the trustworthiness of the free press.

What makes it worse, in my view, is the way so many Americans are quick to pick up on such a story and spread it immediately and without criticism across social media. In a world where fewer and fewer people actually watch the news or read the papers, social media has become the source of much of what we know about our world. It is a powerful tool for both good and evil and it is being used for both purposes. When people uncritically repeat so called “facts” in social media they often unwittingly spread falsehoods. And the industry “fact checkers” are no help at all. Their purported objectivity is so obviously biased that it is laughable to call it anything but censorship and propaganda.

Once a story like this hits the media, whether broadcast or social, it seems unstoppable. Solomon saw the problem thousands of years ago. A false story, once started, even if it is proved false, will continue to spread. And why is that? It is because people continue to repeat it without discrimination. If it fits their preconceived ideas then it is repeated and promoted without hesitation. And of course, if you challenge someone who posts this information, you are likely to be attacked, called a fool, ridiculed, and/or dismissed.

Don’t be fooled. As we move quickly toward what could be the most important national election in a century or more, I want to urge people to be discerning. Ask more questions. Be slow to accept and even slower to respond. Look past the spin no matter where it comes from and treat every story with a healthy dose of skepticism. Don’t think that you already know – remember what Solomon wrote, “Know-It-Alls display their ignorance.” Don’t be an know-it-all and don’t spread false reports.

Shalom,

Kevin

I Have Been Foolish – No More!

August 29, 2020August 29, 2020 ~ Dr. K ~ 6 Comments

“Fools do not want to understand anything. They only want to tell others what they think.” Proverbs 18:2 NCV

Social media has become a dangerous place to hang out. What used to be a great way to keep in touch with friends and family and to have the occasional conversation about history or politics has become a place where people feel free to attack others without fear of repercussions. Civil discussion has devolved into angry rants punctuated by links to media sources cited as “proof” of the rectitude of each person’s ideas.

Writing in the book of Proverbs, Solomon seems to have seen some of this coming and warned us against it. He wrote that “fools” don’t participate in a conversation in order to understand and grow. All they really want is to tell others what they think. This is so prevalent in social media communication that I’m afraid it is becoming the norm. And along with it people have allowed hate, rage, and disrespect to become their norms in communication. People are so quick to place a label of hate on others. They are so impatient to prove that they are right and the others are wrong. They are absolutely determined to “prove” their position not by reasoned debate built on understanding but rather by beating the other person into submission with a barrage of angry words and hateful accusations. Everyone is either a socialist or a fascist. They are idiots or morons because they disagree with you.

In a culture at the crossroads, I fear these are signs that we are closer each day to a catastrophic break that will issue in disaster. We can already see the signs in the violence in so many places across the nation. Portland, Kenosha, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles . . . the list goes on. Protest has become riot. Riot has become open conflict with armed combatants on all sides. Deaths are on the rise and there does not appear to be any end in sight.

Political figures on both sides of the growing divide seem unwilling and unable to provide leadership. There is no vision for peace coming from any of them. The President and Republicans want to blame the Democrat leadership of the states and cities and make it their problem. The Democrats want to blame the President and Republicans, calling them out for being divisive and failing to provide unity. I believe they are all correct and all absolutely in the wrong. For none of them are willing to stand up and lead. None of them are willing to provide a vision for all Americans to follow a path toward peace. Each of them seems so focused on keeping themselves in power that they have no idea how to lead us to cultural unity and compromise.

In the absence of leadership from our elected officials, it is time for we, the people, to stand up on our own and assume the mantle of leadership. I’m not talking about political action or even public protest. I am talking about leading through influence with one another. We don’t need a politician to tell us how to behave. We already know. We need to work together to build a new consensus in our culture. We don’t have to agree, but we do need to respect, listen to and learn from one another. We need each other to be whole.

In the past six months I have been called a racist, a white supremacist, a homophobe, a narcissist, a bully, an old white man, a fool, and “boomer.” I have been labeled a “Trumper” and tagged a Fox News groupie and an NRA tool. I guess I am an old white man, LOL. At least as some people count old. But the rest of these labels just don’t fit and I reject them without any hesitation. Even more, I reject the very idea that labeling others with terms intended to demean, diminish and defeat them and their ideas is a proper way to discuss what divides us. As long as people continue to follow this path the divisions will grow and the hatred that drives those divisions will increase.

I confess, I have been guilty in the past of contributing to the anger on social media. I have written hurtful things and failed to see the person behind the post. I made a commitment to myself several months ago to cease this practice. I am doing my best to focus every time on hearing the person on the other side of my comments and taking their perspective into consideration. I am committed to doing everything possible to keep my contributions focused on not just facts, but truth. Facts can be used in countless ways to support a position, but truth takes into account how facts intersect with other facts and how perspective and preconception influence each position.

I don’t know who will read this or who will agree to it, but I hope and pray that many will choose to follow my example in this and heed my plea. Join me in a new movement in America to focus on peace and unity instead of conflict and division. Who will join me?

Shalom

Kevin

Is Our Culture Headed for War?

August 15, 2020August 15, 2020 ~ Dr. K ~ Leave a comment

The stage is set for what could be the most important national election since 1860. Not since that momentous election have we been so divided as a people. Or at least is seems so to me. Our divisions touch deep into our culture and expose not just a divide or politics and policy, but an even deeper divide over core values. That, I believe, is at the heart of the choice we must make.

To understand the choice, we need to first understand at least a little bit about culture. When I use that word here, I mean to focus on the shared ideas and values that together form our common understanding of how things “should” be. In particular, I’m thinking of the values we hold as people that we believe are important enough to argue, debate, and even fight over. Those values that are important enough to organize our lives around. In other words, what matters enough for you to fight about and how far are you willing to go in that fight to translate your values into practice and policy for your community, your state, your nation.¹

At every level there can be and often are competing value systems that inform culture. In a nation as large and diverse as the United States there are always competing values. We see them at every level. My values don’t always match those of my family members. My neighbors and I may disagree on a variety of issues. People in my community, my state, my region, and my nation all have values that we share and some on which we disagree. In most times and most circumstances those differences make for interesting and often spirited debate.

Culture is not simply ideas, and debate over culture is not the same as debate or discussion about ideas. Culture is made evident in living and its values are translated into policies, practices, actions and relationships. Culture is not just what we think or believe, it is how we choose to live because of what we think or believe. And because culture truly matters we extend our choices about the right way to live to others around us. We say, in effect, what I think or believe is right, and I think others should agree with me and so live as I choose to live.

When these choices are localized and personal and when they are considered part of our individual liberty, they have little power to divide. For example, I believe going to Church on Sunday morning is important and valuable and I choose to make that a priority for my family. If my neighbor disagrees and chooses instead to spend Sunday morning resting at home that may make for an interesting discussion between us, but its not likely to cause us to fight. What would happen, though, if I came to believe that going to Church is so important that every American should be mandated appear in church on Sunday morning and I attempted to pass that value into law? Would you fight me?

Of course you would. And you would fight using every intellectual, social and political tool available to you to make sure that my values were not forced on you. Forcing someone to go to church violates the 1st Amendment, you would argue. You can’t force someone to believe, you might say. That idea violates my personal rights! If you and I cannot reach some form of comprise, and if we each hold to our value strongly enough that we are willing to fight for it, we are divided. At this point in the debate one of us must win and the other must lose.

This happens all the time in society and politics. The clash of values plays itself out in elections, in legislative activity, in courts of law, and in a thousand other regular interactions among people everywhere. It hurts to be on the losing side in an election and we don’t like to follow policies we don’t agree with, but we do because we hold a greater set of values more dear. For a majority of Americans, the core values expressed in the Pledge of Allegiance, “one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” have prevailed. Those “higher” values along with a common commitment to civil discourse, freedom of expression and good will toward others has meant we can agree to disagree and accept both our wins and our losses with grace.

So what happens when some one or some group of people cannot accept these differences in culture with grace? What happens when you lose the battle over and election, or a policy, or a law and you can’t or won’t accept the outcome? Historically this can be the impetus that creates a new social or political movement. It has been the seed bed for the birth of new political parties and new social alliances of many forms. Often, the result is civil unrest in some form. Peaceful protest and non violent civil disobedience are not uncommon. Violent civil disruptions may also seem like the right action for some. Only in very rare circumstances does the dispute reach the level of open division and conflict between two clearly identified value systems that cannot seem to coexist. The highest and most devastating form of culture conflict is civil war. That is what happened in 1860.²

Could it be happening again? I can’t say it is certainly so, but something is happening in America today that I believe threatens the unity of our nation and I think its root cause is a widening divide in cultural values. Its not just the difference between Democrats and Republicans. It goes much deeper. Every element of culture seems to be in conflict to a greater or lesser degree. The differences are substantial and it is increasingly difficult to envision policy outcomes that will satisfy all sides of the growing divide. voices on the left have already taken to the streets in both peaceful and violent protest. Voices on the right are calling for open and armed resistance should the left win out and enact policies that violate their core values. Voices of compromise and restraint seem to be dwindling in both numbers and volume. It is a scary and challenging time for Americans.

Is there anything we can do about? I think there is. I think the first thing to do is to get involved and stay involved in the conversation about values. It will be uncomfortable. (I was going to say it might be uncomfortable but I think it is more certain than that) I intend to stay involved myself and to forward my contributions through this blog and the other forms of modern communication available to me. I welcome anyone who wants to explore the values of culture today and influence their adoption in America to join me in the discussion.

¹Defining Culture is complex. Understanding the elements of culture even more so. There is a vast literature on culture, its definition, its meaning, its expression and its impact. A good starting point for someone who just wants to join the conversation might be the wikipedia article on culture. Find it here. https://bit.ly/3g29pCd If you want to dig deeper into the topic you might want to start with this list of books here https://bit.ly/2DVinnQ.

²A good starting point for understanding how the division of culture produced the Civil War in America is “Cultures in Conflict: The American Civil War” by Steven E. Woodworth. Greenwood Press, 2000.