Pride and All

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.

Update:  McQuade, Barbara, "Attack From Within," 2024.  New York Times best seller.

It’s June which means it’s Pride Month. Pride Month celebrates Gay pride, but it represents much more than to me than that. Don’t get me wrong. Gay pride deserves the celebration and acknowledgement that comes with it.

Pride Month for me celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion. Those three words are at the core of the American constitutional commitment. Basic human rights for everyone. No questions asked. Pure and simple. Despite the American tendency to the contrary. I believe that the white aristocrats that wrote the U.S. Constitution understood this and blessed future generations of Americans with these basic human rights codified in our foundational document.

2026 is the 250th year of the United States and 237 years since the Constitution was ratified and took effect. A lot has been made of the fact that a number of prominent people responsible for the independence of the United States owned other people. That is slavery. How could they?

Well, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe all owned slaves. Total hypocricy right? Not so fast. These men came from European stock. They were men who came from a time when only white men with land could vote, where women:

had limited legal rights and were often considered dependents of their fathers or husbands.

Education for women was primarily focused on domestic skills rather than academic subjects.

Many women participated in boycotts and protests, demonstrating their political engagement.

Some women took on roles as spies or soldiers, challenging traditional gender roles.

The concept of “Republican Motherhood” emerged, emphasizing women’s role in raising virtuous citizens.

Despite their contributions, women were largely excluded from formal political participation and voting rights.

(AI Summary for prompt “How were Women treated in revolutionary America?”)

So, despite their inherited limitations in the area of Human Rights, they sought to guide future generations towards a more equitable treatment of people regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual preference…

In celebrating Pride Month, we here in the United States are called to honor our founders and make the Constitution a living document by upholding it’s principles. We are called to condemn messages like this from Alabama Senator Tommy Tubberville and celebrate diversity as it is intended to be celebrated.

There is a vocal, largely regional, minority faction of Americans who have a different view on what America should look like. Their view is not my view nor was it the view of our nation’s founders.

Speak out loudly and proudly for the diversity, equity and inclusion that we as citizens of the United States of America have been tasked to uphold.

God bless us everyone.

• Did you vote?
• Did you smile at someone today?
• Did you do anything to counter Tommy Tubberville’s views on Pride Month?
• Are you taking good care of yourself
• If you answered “no” to any these points, go out and make each one a “Yes.”
• https://www.aarp.org/events-history/pride-month-events-2026/
• Read the highlighted text on disinformation at the top.