The
internet is such a great source of instant information. Put in a search word and in a nano-second you
have more information than you ever needed.
Often more information than you know what to do with. Sifting through it
can be daunting. Can you trust that the
information is true? To separate the
reliable from the suspicious, I apply this criterion: what or who is the source and are they trying
to sell me something or promote a product or service. If the answer is “yes” I toss it out as
untrustworthy. The motive for putting
the information out there is to get me to buy something, not to disseminate
information that could be helpful or to help get to the truth, or to advance
someone’s knowledge. To report and
promote the truth simply for the sake of truth itself is a noble cause. Most people, organizations, and corporations
have ulterior motives for promoting their “truth.” If this is the case when I am searching the
internet I cannot trust the information I am reading.
We
are all familiar with some of the books promoting certain diets--often promoted
as cure-alls for whatever ails you. For
example the vegan diet will keep your heart healthy well into old-age. It can actually reverse heart disease claim
its authors. The Paleo diet of meat and
vegetables, no grains, no starch will keep you from ever getting any disease at
all. I truly believe the authors of
these books are sincere and I know they are scientific in their research and
presentations of the facts they have determined to be true. But I also know they cannot all be touting
the truth. The research they have done and they will continue to do is going to
be exclusively designed to support their truth, not destroy it.
I
cannot say enough on the subject of the media and its lack of
trustworthiness. Many mainstream TV
programs claim to be reporting the news.
But some are actually making political comments at the expense of the
truth. The truth all too often never
gets out until it is too late. Even if
the true story is reported, we still must be very suspicious as to whether or
not it is accurate.
Consider
the now known fact that the Iraq war was based on a lie. The people and the news media were told that
Saddam Hussein had wmd’s. We had proof. Our government reported this information
unequivocally knowing that it was not true and the media passed it on. Yes, the media did report the lie
accurately. And then later reported
accurately that it all was a lie, but some effective investigative reporting
might have been very useful in the beginning.
So
how do we know what to believe or not believe?
People often select one belief over another because they want to believe
it. This turns out to be simply a case
of self-deception. Try changing the mind
of a person who has deceived himself into believing what he wants to
believe. I personally know very few
people who behave this way. I suppose
that’s because I prefer to hang with people who value the truth and the ability
to think things through.
Do
you have my trust? Yes, you do. I think there is a very high degree of trust
in this room. When we share our weekly
stories, I believe we are all being as truthful as possible. In some cases we have to dig deep inside to
put some of our truths on paper or into words.
The level of trust among us is truly a Monday afternoon gift and at
least for me makes it a whole lot easier to do the digging.
© 16 Sep 2013
About the Author
No comments:
Post a Comment