Category Archives: Politics

Who to Believe Amongst all the Noise

Posted on by

Who and what should we believe?

Are masks good or bad? Is Bill Gates benevolent or evil? Is there a deep state conspiracy to profit off fear? Is a shadow government pulling the strings? Or is big pharma? Can vaccines be trusted? Can scientists? Or are they intentionally hiding findings that could help us?

These are questions I’ve seen throughout my social media feeds. People, in an attempt to discover what is true, are sharing anything and everything that confirms their suspicions about *gestures widely*.

There is a lot of noise out here. A lot. Some of it is true, some of it has truth amongst opinion, some is flat out lies, and some is intentionally designed to sow discord and make us miserable. And based on my desire to stress eat an entire sleeve of Oreos, I think that part is working.

Social media has elevated every voice. This can be a good and beautiful thing, but can also quickly become problematic. Voices that are dishonest, hateful, and have less than healthy motivations have a chance to be heard and spread widely.

How do we tell the difference? How do we know who to believe? What can be trusted? And how to do we cut back on the constant chatter about what is true? I have some suggestions.

But before that we should know the damage all this noise is doing. Every debunked article we share makes us less trustworthy people. Every false narrative we push is bearing false witness. We hinder our influence in the world when we are quick to jump on each and every claim we come across.

We are becoming suspicious, fearful people who trust no one. We are being shaped by the media we consume. It forms our priorities, our worldview, and the way we love (or hate) our neighbor. This is not a healthy way to live.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t search for truth or ask hard questions. I think there are times when truth is covered up, when the popular opinion is wrong, and the lone voice is the one proclaiming what it is real. On our search for answers, though, we need to be careful, thoughtful, and consistent.

We could probably do without sharing every article or video that confirms our opinion. When we share what we think is true, rather than what we know is true, this adds to the confusion. If we don’t know the veracity of a claim, we shouldn’t share it. Even if we believe it. We shouldn’t say, “I don’t know if this is true, but…” By clicking share we are adding our weight to the argument. We can hold an opinion without proclaiming it as gospel truth to our social networks.

I’d suggest that we not believe everything we see or hear. Simply because someone made a video or podcast doesn’t make it true. Just because a website says it doesn’t make it so. Anyone can make content and upload it. You can find people on the internet who think the country of Finland doesn’t exist, Elvis is alive, and the Dallas Cowboys are a good football team. All these things are demonstrably untrue.

I’d suggest we ask for proof. Facts. Data. People should be able back up their claims, and that goes for the people sharing it as well. Before you share it, Google it. Or Ask Jeeves it. Or whatever the people are using these days. Fact check. This may mean crunching the numbers to see if they are good at math. I had a friend do this for a popular video going around recently and it turns out the math was bad, but it had already been shared by many of my friends as proof of a reality that doesn’t exist.

Look up who a person is and what things they are known for doing. If their claim is valid there should be evidence. Scientific evidence can be reproduced. Behavioral evidence repeats itself. People have histories and resumes that add to or take away from their credibility. If it can’t be verified, perhaps don’t share it?

In our rush to be right we often times share something that is wrong. I am guilty of doing this. Perhaps we should slow down. Take time to think it through and read about it. Ask the opinions of people we respect and trust to be honest. Being slow to speak (or click share) would cut down on a tremendous amount of noise in our world. We could always wait. We don’t need to be the first to champion every cause and, this one is hard for me, everyone doesn’t need to know our opinion about everything.

(I fact checked that last statement with my wife and she confirms its legitimacy)

Another thing we can do is ask questions. The more questions we ask the more we will discover what legs a claim stands on. Where do you get your information? How did you come up with these numbers? What’s your background? Do you think pineapple belongs on pizza? Questions help uncover reality. If someone won’t or can’t answer questions, they probably shouldn’t be trusted.

And we should ask questions of ourselves. Why do I believe this? Why do I want it shared? What are my motivations? Perhaps we aren’t always above board either.

We are living in troubled times. Our politics are polarized, our world is battling a pandemic, and most of us are out of our normal routines. Mix in news articles that contradict each other and we have a recipe for noise, confusion, and anxiety. We can rise above it. We can refuse to turn the volume up and can instead help turn it down.

I think it’s desperately needed for our health, for the good of our world, and for our reputations.

I’m going to try my best to think through my shares, my likes, my retweets. To filter my opinions more. To ensure what I share is real rather than imagined. I won’t get it all right, but I’d invite you to join me. We can do better than this.

Surviving Thanksgiving with *Those* People

Posted on by

12I have a friend who lives a long distance from family and is considering not making the trek home for Thanksgiving. They are anxious about the conversations that will surround the table and fill the hours around the meal.

They don’t vote the way their extended family votes and they dread the offhand comments, the arguments, and the judgement that will come their way this week. The mental energy needed to absorb it all without overturning the table or damaging relationships is more than they feel they can handle right now.

This is who we are in 2018: it is wholly exhausting to share a meal or weekend with people we disagree with politically.

This reveals a deep problem within our culture, where we love our political agendas more than the people who share our blood. Where we assume everyone must think like us, or at least all the smart, loving, faithful people. Where we assign moral value to things that are morally ambivalent and justify things that are immoral as long as it’s our side doing it. Where we are more loyal to pundits and politicians than to those sharing our last name.

It’s ugly. Its unfortunate. It’s real. And many of us will spend time this week navigating these circumstances.

So how do we survive?

We can avoid any and all political talk, but that doesn’t seem likely, or helpful. We should be able to discuss these things. Politics matter and in a world where we infrequently leave our echo chambers, its important to have respectful conversations with those who think differently. Even those who are wrong.

So while we can’t control other people’s behavior and language, we can control ours. And perhaps we can set the tone and keep ourselves from becoming *those* people to folks who disagree with us.

For starters, let’s avoid blanket statements or assumptions. Don’t speak for or label entire groups of people.

“Republicans hate poor people” is not helpful, no matter how strongly you believe it. Same with “Democrats hate baby Jesus.” These things shut down conversation and put up defenses. Don’t do it. Use specific examples, not broad brushes.

Let’s ask good questions. Not, “How could you?” or “Didn’t I raise you better?” But questions that come from a place of humility and assume a posture of learning.

  • Can you tell me how you came to that conclusion?
  • Can you show me a source for that information?
  • What do you think about this?

Curiosity demonstrates that these people matter to us. We may learn something. Or perhaps they will. Good questions dig deeper and require thoughtfulness. Good questions lead to understanding.

Let’s also listen well. Hear what people are saying. Don’t formulate your argument while they are talking. Care enough about them to value their concerns.

Listening is a lost art in the age of social media and late night news. Let’s take the time to take in what is being said. At a minimum we will understand each other better. Perhaps we will hear things that aren’t all that different than what we want as well.

And for those who like me claim to follow Jesus, everything we do should be marked by love. If we can’t share a meal with our family without making hateful or bigoted or dismissive comments about *those* people, I’m not sure we are living the way we have been tasked. Disagreeing is okay. Standing up for what is right is necessary. But how we do it, how we respond, is essential to Christians.

In a handwritten sermon outline Dr. Martin Luther King Jr answered the question of why we should love our enemies. He wrote: “Because the process of hate for hate brings disaster to all involved. Because hate distorts the whole personality. Because love has within in a redemptive power.”

I’m not convinced that everyone who disagrees with me on taxes or healthcare or immigration is my enemy, but sometimes we act like they are. And for the Christian we have a clear mandate on how to respond to *those* people: love them.

Hate brings disaster but love is redemptive.

If we can’t be right and loving at the same time, we are wrong.

If we can’t hold both our political values and the people we gather with around the table, lets let go of the politics.

If we can’t speak truth in love, than our truth doesn’t matter.

If we can’t see past bad positions to care for the person in front of us, we have our priorities out of sync.

If we call people to a better way, but that way isn’t marked by love, we are lost.

This Thanksgiving, lets do better. Let’s make room. Lets be kind and loving and patient. Lets laugh and share memories and tell what we are thankful for. And lets disagree well.

Oh, and we should eat lots of pie too. That helps.

Happy Thanksgiving people. And good luck.

(It should be noted that there are indeed times to avoid people who are toxic to us. Use discretion and be aware of what is healthy for you. If some place or person is not safe for you, the advice here won’t make it any better.)

Vote Early, Vote Often

Posted on by

Praise report: Election season is almost over. I’m sure the next one will pick up steam quickly, but I’m ready for this one to go away.

In the meantime, I have some advice for us:

Vote early, vote often.

Of course, I don’t mean we should commit voter fraud. I’m not for cheating or fudging numbers or anything like that. What I’m advocating is that we live out our votes today, Tuesday, next month, and next year.

When we vote we are communicating what kind of world we want, what kind of world we believe in. Our votes declare what is important to us, but our votes are not restricted to the ballot box.

We vote every time we spend money. We vote when we post something online. We vote with the way we use our time. We vote in our daily conversations.

Our words, our wallets, our free time all tell far more about our worldview than our preferred political platforms.

So please, vote early, vote often.

Whatever issues motivate you to support a candidate or show up at the polls should be important to you beyond a Tuesday in November.

For example, do you vote for pro-life candidates? Live pro-life.

Are we doing anything to support pregnancy centers? Are we working to decrease the number of abortions sought? What are we doing to support single parents, poor parents, foster parents, orphans?

These are things that demonstrate a pro-life ethic and work to see it implemented. More than checking a box we should be volunteering, donating, mentoring, fostering, adopting, educating, and more. There are plenty of attitudes and actions we can participate in beyond November if we are truly pro-life people.

Do you think our country should be more welcoming to refugees?

Get involved with refugees already here. Walk alongside them, help them secure jobs and insurance, partner with resettlement organizations.

Think we should first support our homeless veterans? Get involved with people doing just that. Make it happen.

Do you vote for those who prefer diplomacy over war? Work for peace in your family and neighborhood and on Facebook today.

Do you think the uptick in racially or religiously motivated hate is a problem? You can vote for candidates who agree with you on paper and still not do much to help the problem.

Make friends across religious lines. Read and share stories of people not like you. Resist the urge to polarize and dehumanize. Have dinner with a political opposite.

For me it is easy to sit behind my computer or phone and list my opinions on the internet. This may be helpful in some (very rare) instances, but this isn’t the solution.

It is also fairly easy for most of us to show up at the local voting booth and check a box. This may be helpful in some cases, but, again, it’s not the solution to the problems we face.

Outlawing abortion tomorrow will not solve the issues surrounding unwanted pregnancies.

Welcoming every refugee in the world will not solve the problem of war, poverty, and complications that come with relocating to a new country.

Raising or lowering taxes, shifting spending, negotiating trade are all things worth having an opinion on but how are we spending our days?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t vote toward these ends. I’m saying we should do a lot more than vote on Tuesday. Voting is great but only scratches the surface of what is necessary.

What matters to you? Not what do you say matters – how do you actually live? How do you talk? Spend? Give? What do I do that shows where my values lie?

The life we live will be far more indicative of what matters most than all the ballots we ever cast. And I believe will have far greater impact.

The world changes more when we live and give and share and laugh than when we fill in a bubble for congresspeople and presidents.

So please, vote well. Vote early. Vote often.

Vote in word and deed, online and in person. Vote with your attitudes and by being a good neighbor. Put your money and heart where your vote is. And whether your candidates win or lose, we’ll change the world for better.