On Tyranny: Lesson 11: Investigate

Amidst the tyranny among us, let us not forget the terrible toll that SARS-COV-2 is having on the world and the United States. Click on the link for the most current data and information.

Lesson 11:  Investigate

“Figure things out for yourself. Spend more time with long articles. Subsidize investigative journalism by subscribing to print media. Realize that some of what is on the internet is there to harm you. Learn about sites that investigate propaganda campaigns (some of which come from abroad). Take responsibility for what you communicate to others.”

Timothy Snyder, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century,” 2017.

Political theorist Hannah Arendt in talking about the Vietnam War said: “Under normal circumstances the liar is defeated by reality, for which there is no substitute; no matter how large the tissue of falsehood that an experienced liar has to offer, it will never be large enough, even if it enlists the power of computers, to cover the immensity of factuality.” Unfortunately, the part about computers is no longer true in the 21st Century. Computers and social media can become a liar’s best friend and tool to spread misinformation. People are surprised these days when someone knocks on their door in the midst of a political campaign or for any reason for that matter. They are simply not used to dealing with a face-to-face real human being. That was true in 2016 and it is even more true now during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Spending more time in front of a computer screen makes us even more susceptible to being sucked in by our tribes. We need to believe and be attached to the things we believe in.

Journalism, real live investigative journalism provides us with truth., Yes, THE truth. Truth still exists. It is not hypothetical or philosophical. It simply is. If an issue, a thesis, is presented and evidence is gathered and presented to support it and the evidence to support it is greater than the evidence that does not support it, then that is THE truth on this issue/thesis.

As Tim Snyder says, “It is your ability discern facts that makes you an individual, and our collective trust in common knowledge that makes us a society. The individual who investigates is also the citizen who builds. The leader who dislikes the investigators is a potential tyrant.” The former president used the word “lies” in reference to facts that didn’t support his views. In turn, he pointed to the journalists as “liars” because they dared to challenge his version of reality. When Facebook and Twitter allowed him to spread his misinformation, the internet became his best friend. But, now that Facebook and Twitter have denied him their platforms on which to spread this misinformation, it is more difficult to reach all of the people that he needs to reach to keep his lie alive and kicking.

Journalism is hard work. At one point in college, I saw it as a possible career. I admire the people who have made it their life’s work. It is difficult work made even more difficult, and sometimes life threatening, when you dare speak up against an authoritarian or someone trying to become one. Social media and the internet are basically free. Anyone can use it to publish anything that they want to publish whether or not it is true. If you want to maintain your individuality, your unique individual voice, you need to read it. Read it in lengthy, well researched, fact checked, evidence based articles written by journalists. The internet is “free” but it is not by any means always “true.” We need to pay for true, we need to support true. We need. to subsidize true. I read a newspaper that we pick up off the driveway each morning. It’s expensive. But, the money that we pay for that newspaper helps to support free and independent investigative journalism. It pays for truth. You can subscribe to online publications as well. The truth is not free. You pay to put gas in your car, for the water that you drink, for the entertainment that you receive. Is it too much to ask to pay for the truth?

Sharing your thoughts and ideas in public brings with it a commitment to the people who will be reading those thoughts and ideas. We, I, have a responsibility to be honest in what we publish. Words matter. Whether those words are words of opinion or words of news. They matter. They become our thoughts and our actions. Be mindful of them at all times. Words are who we are as individuals and individuals together are a society.

It’s time for some tough love. Don’t trust the internet for your truth. In fact, don’t trust any single television network for your truth. There is lots of untruth out there. If you value truth, budget for it. Subscribe to that newspaper that employs investigative journalists and has a large news department whether that “paper” comes to your porch or driveway or on your computer screen. If you value the truth, make the sacrifices to pay for it. If democracy matters to you this is what we all need to do. This will also help us to build a healthier internet community. You’ve heard the saying Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO). How about we replace that with Good In, Good Out (GIGO).

PS: Does anyone know of a website or websites that specifically investigate propaganda campaigns?