This past weekend, a video of a Native American veteran and some boys from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky went viral. All over Facebook, all over Twitter, all over the MSM was the confrontation showing a Native American man beating a drum face to face with a teenager. You've probably seen the viral picture.
The amount of sharing on Facebook was incredible. Every other person on my news feed had posted it- condemning the teenager wearing the MAGA hat, hating on Covington Catholic, saying, "What's wrong with teenagers today," condemning the hat, asking why they were wearing a MAGA hat and why the school would allow such a symbol, etc. It went on and on.
The kids from Covington Catholic and their families went into hiding. They had death threats. The parents were threatened professionally. Kathy Griffin demanded names, addresses, and locations of the teens, wanting to dox them to her followers. In a period of a few hours, the Covington Catholic teens were the most hated people in America.
How quick the people of this nation were to share it.
Then, something happened.
New video surfaced. New testimonies surfaced. Turns out that things weren't as they first appeared. Video surfaced of the Native American veteran approaching the teens, starting the conflict. Video of another group of protestors surfaced, hurling racial and homophobic slurs at the Covington Catholic teens. New statements from eyewitnesses came forward, showing that America had been lied to, manipulated by the news media pushing a narrative.
The silence on social media the next day was deafening.
People who had called for the heads of the teens were quiet. The outrage subsided. People who had been quick to share the story wrote retractions. As the truth came out, the people who had shared the story looked foolish.
This showed me one incredibly alarming thing. America has increasingly lost its ability to think critically.
Critical thinking has left the building. In its place is emotional reaction. Instead of showing patience, wisdom, maturity in the face of a piece of news, instead of waiting for facts (because they always come out later), instead of thinking of the consequences of sharing a viral story that could possibly destroy the lives of people, America unthinkingly went ballistic.
We have become a people without gravity, without logic, without the ability to think beyond what we are being shown on a screen. Without the ability to think critically about a story or a piece of news, we become a nation that is easily duped. Easily manipulated. Easily deceived. That's what we are now.
Instead of developing the ability to look at pieces of news with skepticism, we instead have developed the ability to jump on the bandwagon and direct our scorn, derision, and hate towards anyone the media tells to direct it towards.
America today reminds me of a bird that lived in my backyard when I was a kid. We had a glassed-in porch, and one day this bird flew smack into the window. It dropped to the ground, floundered around for a minute, and then flew into the window again. Same thing. A few minutes later, it did it again. The stupid bird not only kept flying into the window- it kept flying into the SAME window.
That's exactly what America is today. News story after news story has come out provoking outrage, with stories going viral, people up in arms, calling for the heads of whoever happens to be the whipping boy of the day. Then, the next day, more information comes out and everyone feels sheepish that they got duped so easily. Then the next day or week, it happens again- some news story inflames passions and everyone gets fired up and the internet heats up with shares and likes and debates. Then the next day, new information comes out and everyone retreats. The next day, same thing. WE NEVER LEARN.
I believe this is the most scary thing that can ever happen to a society.
When a society loses the ability to think critically, it becomes one easily controlled. It becomes one easily duped. An easily controlled society is one that is capable of extreme acts of evil. Or, at least will tolerate leaders who will commit acts of extreme evil. All societies in history that have committed horrendous atrocities have leaders who controlled information, duping the people.
America needs to return to a society that looks with skepticism on everything. Whenever the internet is rushing to dogpile on someone or something, back away. Refuse to speak or comment. Withhold judgment until more facts come out. Wait a few days before commenting. Resist the urge to share juicy morsels of breaking news.
The reason people were so quick to share this story is because of a phenomenon psychologists refer to as "confirmation bias." Confirmation bias simply means that we believe stories that go along with what we already believe to be true.
Confirmation bias was seen in this instance because the people sharing this story already believed some things to be true: that people wearing MAGA hats are racist, that pro-life conservatives were bigots, etc. Because of those preconceived notions, when they saw white kids in conflict with a Native American, it was no problem convincing them that the white kids were aggressors, that they were in the wrong, and that their actions were based on racism.
A psychologist could make a career out of what happened Saturday. Confirmation bias is present in anyone and everyone. Everyone has preconceived beliefs and notions, and if we aren't careful, if we don't think critically, we simply go along with any news story or any SLANT to a news story that goes along with what we already believe. That's why critical thinking is so very important. It takes wisdom and gravity and maturity to realize your own confirmation bias and refuse to take that path until all the facts are in. This is what has disappeared from America, and this is why we are so easily duped and controlled.
Confirmation bias can be summed up this way- "People don't want to know what is true. They only want to know that what they ALREADY BELIEVE is true."
I have a policy- I don't believe anything people say. I don't believe anything I read or hear. It's not that I don't trust people or have a problem with people, it's just that people never tell the whole story. I think it's a natural thing to do- we tell stories in a way that makes us look innocent or moral or whatever. We leave out details, we leave out context, and we leave out key things that are usually brought forward by another person, hence the cliche, "There are always two sides to every story."
News stories are the same. Don't believe anything you read or hear. Let that be your default mode when encountering a story. The default mode of an intelligent, critically-thinking individual is "That probably didn't happen, at least in the way that it's being presented."
Realize that you're never being told the entire story.
Realize that you're being told just enough information to provoke maximum outrage and gain maximum interest. The media's job is to get your attention. They can only do that through likes and shares and outrage, so they give you what will provide the maximum amount of likes and shares and outrage. We are being played, people, and it seems like fewer and fewer people are able to see it.
Stop letting emotions dictate your reaction. Mark Twain said it best- "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect, because very rarely does the majority ever do the right thing."
There are very dark days ahead for America, because we've lost the ability to think critically. Instead, we are a nation dictated by emotion, easily duped, and therefore easily controlled. How foolish America looked this past weekend. How quick America was to believe the story dangled in front of us by the media. How unintelligent we looked. Unless America is able to regain its sense of critical thinking, we won't last long as a nation.
The amount of sharing on Facebook was incredible. Every other person on my news feed had posted it- condemning the teenager wearing the MAGA hat, hating on Covington Catholic, saying, "What's wrong with teenagers today," condemning the hat, asking why they were wearing a MAGA hat and why the school would allow such a symbol, etc. It went on and on.
The kids from Covington Catholic and their families went into hiding. They had death threats. The parents were threatened professionally. Kathy Griffin demanded names, addresses, and locations of the teens, wanting to dox them to her followers. In a period of a few hours, the Covington Catholic teens were the most hated people in America.
How quick the people of this nation were to share it.
Then, something happened.
New video surfaced. New testimonies surfaced. Turns out that things weren't as they first appeared. Video surfaced of the Native American veteran approaching the teens, starting the conflict. Video of another group of protestors surfaced, hurling racial and homophobic slurs at the Covington Catholic teens. New statements from eyewitnesses came forward, showing that America had been lied to, manipulated by the news media pushing a narrative.
The silence on social media the next day was deafening.
People who had called for the heads of the teens were quiet. The outrage subsided. People who had been quick to share the story wrote retractions. As the truth came out, the people who had shared the story looked foolish.
This showed me one incredibly alarming thing. America has increasingly lost its ability to think critically.
Critical thinking has left the building. In its place is emotional reaction. Instead of showing patience, wisdom, maturity in the face of a piece of news, instead of waiting for facts (because they always come out later), instead of thinking of the consequences of sharing a viral story that could possibly destroy the lives of people, America unthinkingly went ballistic.
We have become a people without gravity, without logic, without the ability to think beyond what we are being shown on a screen. Without the ability to think critically about a story or a piece of news, we become a nation that is easily duped. Easily manipulated. Easily deceived. That's what we are now.
Instead of developing the ability to look at pieces of news with skepticism, we instead have developed the ability to jump on the bandwagon and direct our scorn, derision, and hate towards anyone the media tells to direct it towards.
America today reminds me of a bird that lived in my backyard when I was a kid. We had a glassed-in porch, and one day this bird flew smack into the window. It dropped to the ground, floundered around for a minute, and then flew into the window again. Same thing. A few minutes later, it did it again. The stupid bird not only kept flying into the window- it kept flying into the SAME window.
That's exactly what America is today. News story after news story has come out provoking outrage, with stories going viral, people up in arms, calling for the heads of whoever happens to be the whipping boy of the day. Then, the next day, more information comes out and everyone feels sheepish that they got duped so easily. Then the next day or week, it happens again- some news story inflames passions and everyone gets fired up and the internet heats up with shares and likes and debates. Then the next day, new information comes out and everyone retreats. The next day, same thing. WE NEVER LEARN.
I believe this is the most scary thing that can ever happen to a society.
When a society loses the ability to think critically, it becomes one easily controlled. It becomes one easily duped. An easily controlled society is one that is capable of extreme acts of evil. Or, at least will tolerate leaders who will commit acts of extreme evil. All societies in history that have committed horrendous atrocities have leaders who controlled information, duping the people.
America needs to return to a society that looks with skepticism on everything. Whenever the internet is rushing to dogpile on someone or something, back away. Refuse to speak or comment. Withhold judgment until more facts come out. Wait a few days before commenting. Resist the urge to share juicy morsels of breaking news.
The reason people were so quick to share this story is because of a phenomenon psychologists refer to as "confirmation bias." Confirmation bias simply means that we believe stories that go along with what we already believe to be true.
Confirmation bias was seen in this instance because the people sharing this story already believed some things to be true: that people wearing MAGA hats are racist, that pro-life conservatives were bigots, etc. Because of those preconceived notions, when they saw white kids in conflict with a Native American, it was no problem convincing them that the white kids were aggressors, that they were in the wrong, and that their actions were based on racism.
A psychologist could make a career out of what happened Saturday. Confirmation bias is present in anyone and everyone. Everyone has preconceived beliefs and notions, and if we aren't careful, if we don't think critically, we simply go along with any news story or any SLANT to a news story that goes along with what we already believe. That's why critical thinking is so very important. It takes wisdom and gravity and maturity to realize your own confirmation bias and refuse to take that path until all the facts are in. This is what has disappeared from America, and this is why we are so easily duped and controlled.
Confirmation bias can be summed up this way- "People don't want to know what is true. They only want to know that what they ALREADY BELIEVE is true."
I have a policy- I don't believe anything people say. I don't believe anything I read or hear. It's not that I don't trust people or have a problem with people, it's just that people never tell the whole story. I think it's a natural thing to do- we tell stories in a way that makes us look innocent or moral or whatever. We leave out details, we leave out context, and we leave out key things that are usually brought forward by another person, hence the cliche, "There are always two sides to every story."
News stories are the same. Don't believe anything you read or hear. Let that be your default mode when encountering a story. The default mode of an intelligent, critically-thinking individual is "That probably didn't happen, at least in the way that it's being presented."
Realize that you're never being told the entire story.
Realize that you're being told just enough information to provoke maximum outrage and gain maximum interest. The media's job is to get your attention. They can only do that through likes and shares and outrage, so they give you what will provide the maximum amount of likes and shares and outrage. We are being played, people, and it seems like fewer and fewer people are able to see it.
Stop letting emotions dictate your reaction. Mark Twain said it best- "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect, because very rarely does the majority ever do the right thing."
There are very dark days ahead for America, because we've lost the ability to think critically. Instead, we are a nation dictated by emotion, easily duped, and therefore easily controlled. How foolish America looked this past weekend. How quick America was to believe the story dangled in front of us by the media. How unintelligent we looked. Unless America is able to regain its sense of critical thinking, we won't last long as a nation.
AMEN to this article!! This was an attack on the teenager for supporting our president and it is WRONG!!
ReplyDeleteI'll watch the videos again. Here’s my story I have two boys myself, 14 & 12. They are on video games all the time. It’s so hard to get them outside to engage in the world around them or to interact with others face to face. Last summer I bought an RV and took them to over 12 states to see America. They still give me a hard time about how bored they were seeing the Native American reservation in Arizona. They live in a generation that struggles to care to understand others. They want to know what’s in it for them. It’s a sad story with natives ... I myself worked with Native Eskimos and Navajos in Alaska for 5 years at a Christian College learning first-hand about oppression, victimization, opportunity, freedom and choices as these things relate to Natives. As for me, I grew up in Romania. I came as a refugee when I was 14 and I was welcomed by America. My sons’ mother is Mexican. I attended high school in Chicago where gangs and separation by race and culture is very real. I’ve lived in diversity all my life. From my experience I think this young man is brave and the adults should have been more mature about it. When is the last time you were on a bus with 80 boys?
DeleteI myself came from Eastern Europe when I was 14. We were a family of 7 children. My father was put in prison by the communist system for taking Bibles to Russia. I know what injustice feels like. The truth is America welcomed us. We came with nothing. We were poor refugees. The church welcomed us. We trusted God. It took over 8 years for the Romanian government to give us our exit visa so we could come legally. We’ve been in America for 30 years. I feel the same love from my brothers and sisters and I wasn’t judged for my accent, but I have been given favor because of it. It has allowed me to tell my story of faith. The Favor of the Lord has been with us. Do you really think I’ve experienced white privilege? My family had to work hard to restart our lives in America. I feel truly people judged me for my character and not the color of my skin or my accent.
DeleteI had no problem with his hat or the shirts. I had a problem with the lack of chaperones doing what they should have done to avoid the whole situation. I had a problem with a young person standing nose to nose with an elderly person, any elderly person. Hopefully my children would have stepped aside out of respect for the elderly, but who knows in a crowd egging him on like that. I am also quite surprise that a Catholic school would let students black themselves out for sports events. This does surprise me. I went through 12 years of Catholic schooling as did my 4 out of 5 children.We live in Louisville. I just find it very surprising that the school backs these students and their behavior at all. It was totally disrespectful. But, I put the blame on the chaperones and parents.
ReplyDelete