False Facts and True Lies.

    False Facts and True Lies
       

             I grew up in a time where there was one black and white TV in the living room that received four stations.  My parents controlled everything that we watched except on Saturday mornings. That was when we kids got to watch an entire morning of cartoons. For the most part, TV programs, especially news programs, were geared for the adults.

            As a result of that dynamic, as a kid I was a serious reader. I read every book I could find. I read cereal boxes. I read every sign on a bus. My eyes sought out words the way a thirsty man seeks water. If I couldn't read, I listened. At night in my bed when the lights were out, I used a small crystal radio to listen to the music that I could tune in until I fell asleep with my earphone in my ear. I even read the bible when they gave me one in my first year of Sunday school… all of it. And that was when I realized just how important it was to heed the old adage, don't believe everything you read

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            I considered everything I read, every song I heard, every program or movie I watched as a means of gaining knowledge. It was input that helped me understand how life and people worked. I had a vivid and active imagination and enjoyed stories and books that contained fantasy, science fiction and mystery. Works of fiction and poetry brought visions of wonder and possible worlds that could, should or would be. However, as much as I enjoyed works of fiction, what I ultimately preferred was learning facts.

            When they gave me the bible I read it with great interest. I found it fascinating; it raised many serious questions about life and creation. Curiously, when I asked the questions of those I thought would know, the nuns and priests, they seemed be at a loss when it came to providing any answers that made sense. After failing to satisfy my curiosity they always seemed to fall back on a reply that left my questions unanswered. Some questions only God could answer. If I just believed now, then God would explain later.

            I was seeking to learn everything I could about everything I could learn. I didn't want to just "Believe"… I wanted to KNOW! I hated it when I came across something that required Faith and Belief. I wanted to know the Truth. I wanted facts. I wanted to know to the best possible degree how the Earth and the human race came to be. Were we created or did we just evolve?

            I read science books. I read my school books. I read encyclopedias with the same interest that comic books would demand of a kid my age. I spent countless hours at the library, even in the adult section when I could slip in. I loved reading anything that explained the world around me. Most of all I enjoyed reading and listening to news reports.

            Newspapers were my favorite go-to sources when it came to knowing what was happening in the world. I read both of the daily newspapers in my city almost daily. Time, Newsweek and Life magazine were always must reads for me. I watched the evening news reports with my parents whenever possible. While the local stations covered the events in my city and state, it was men like, Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, Robert MacNeil and Jim Lehrer who brought me the news from my country and from all corners of the world. I trusted them. If they reported on an event, I felt that I knew the facts.

            I also understood the difference between a news REPORT and an editorial. Reports gave me the facts; editorials gave me the opinions of those who reported the facts. Opinions can be right or wrong. But facts were facts.

            The voices I listened to were well known, the sources of information were well established, and there were far less people to listen to when it came to learning the facts and forming an opinion of my own. I felt that the First Amendment that established the Free Press along with free speech was our nation's greatest asset.

            But that was then.

            Today we live in a world where we have no one we can trust anymore. Facts are tossed aside and there is always a source that can be found to dispute anything. Conspiracy theories are ubiquitous and no official explanation is ever accepted as true. Politics has become a contact sport where the good of the party is more important than the good of the people. Lying has become an art form.

            In today's world, the world of the internet, we are trapped in a world wide web of diverse and differing groups. It is a platform that carries the voices of millions of people who claim to know the REAL truth to my door. The main stream media is reviled and attacked by many of our political leaders. Finding the facts, sifting through the endless "reports" and finding the grain of truth is a daunting task.

            Any reports that provide facts that support an opposing view are decried as "Fake news." Actual facts are replaced by "alternative facts." Religious beliefs are beginning to replace science fact as a source of accepted truth.

            People no longer think in terms of "We." The world has taken sides and each has adopted a dogma of us or them. If you're not with us, you are against us. There is no room for compromise. No middle ground. Moderates, independent thinkers who look at both sides of an issue are a dying breed.

            Everyone has right to their opinion, but that doesn't make their opinion right. Lies should never replace the truth. Falsehoods should never trump facts. And truth and facts should always form the basis for any conclusion.

            It has been a long accepted scientific fact that the Earth is round. But even today, despite all the proven scientific evidence, there is a small group of believers in what is known as The Flat Earth Society who do not accept the fact that the Earth is round. Creationists, putting their religious beliefs above scientific fact, insist that the Earth is only 5,000 years old and that evolution is a fraudulent theory. Nothing, no facts, will change their minds.

            I don't believe everything I read. But when it comes to making the right decision and supporting the side of any issue, I always try to decide first if what I learn is fact. Even if an issue goes against my personal belief, if it rings true then I have to support it. I don't support abortion, but I support the right of a woman to chose. I don't agree with many of the ideas espoused by groups that promote hate and racist ideology, but I believe they should be allowed to have a voice. But I KNOW the Earth is round and that it is billions of years old.

            WE THE PEOPLE should be allowed to decide what is true and what is false. To do that we need access to reports that contain actual facts so we can make educated decisions. Unfortunately, knowing who to trust when it comes to the source of the facts isn't easy anymore.  In today's world, for too many people, nothing is true unless it supports what they believe. Facts no longer matter. We have become a nation filled with groups that cling to their version of a flat earth.

            And that scares me.