Honesty Revolution
Yes. Our news professionals have abandoned unbiased news reporting. The days of the dogged journalist who ignores all social pressures as they pursue and report the truth have come to an end. And, too many news professionals seem to have forgotten that accurate news reporting is as much about being complete as it is about being correct; showing both sides of the story rather than just the side that advances an agenda.
Yes. Politicians are no better, and perhaps even worse. Political extremism has pushed our political leaders to a point where they’ll say anything they need to say, regardless of its veracity, to get the votes they need to win their elections.
Yes. Too many people around us who will post anything and everything on social media with little or no investigation; particularly influencers whose uninvestigated, unfounded conclusions are given way too much weight. Overall, these social media deceptions are fueled by audiences who have adopted a believe-everything-that-feels good mentality. Consequently, facts and truth are determined mostly upon the political and ideological leanings of both speakers and audiences.
Yes and No. Keep in mind, democracies depend upon facts and truth. Without actual facts and truth, we’ll never know what we’re voting for or against, we’ll never know whether we should be outraged or thankful, and we’ll never know if the problems being addressed by our elected representatives are real or artificial. Ultimately, if people say anything regardless of whether it’s true, all of our opinions, decisions, and conclusions will be based upon the lens of the emotional mob. Without real, verifiable facts, our beliefs will be dominated by the loudest voices, and the value of free speech to our safety, to our freedom, and to the evolution of our innovative ideas will be lost to the irrelevancy of words that no longer have any meaning.
We must dedicate ourselves to creating an honesty revolution. Yes, of course, we must bring objectivity and integrity back into journalism and politics, but it’s more than that. We must individually embrace a quest for truth in all things. We must reject unfounded conclusions. We must interrogate anyone and everyone who makes a statement to understand the foundation for that statement. We must force speakers to prove the merit of their words, even when we’re inclined to agree with them. We must fight back against our knee-jerk reactions to social media posts, and we must force ourselves to dig deeper before letting our emotions take hold of our voices and actions. We must ask questions like, does that make sense? Where did you get that information from? What was the agenda of the person or news outlet that gave you that information? And, if we see that someone is spreading false narratives, regardless of who they are, we must speak out against them, even if they’re not lying but just being reckless or incomplete with facts. Because those who are reckless or incomplete with underlying facts as they broadcast their opinions or conclusions are just as culpable as liars in destroying our democracy. We must create an environment where questioning the foundation for opinions and conclusions is so commonplace that news professionals, politicians, and our friends and neighbors will double-check their sources, their facts, and their logic before even opening their mouths. With this mentality, we can bring honor back to honesty and shame to deceit.