https://newslit.org/ Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22 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
I had said that I would be focusing on the topic of love. I intend to honor that pledge today in Singing Cyclist style.
It is hard to address Love unless it is addressed in the context of Life. The two are both four letter words that start with “L” and the two words would seem to have a universal acceptance as words that draw good feelings from the frontal lobe of the human brain.
These two four letter words are far more pleasing to the frontal lobe than another four letter word starting with the sixth letter of the alphabet that I have used far too often over the past Trump number of years.
I’m not getting into the origins, religious attachments or romantic aspects of the word yet, but they will eventually be addressed here. I am going to opine about the role of Love in the world today.
I mean the world in this unspecified period of time when we Earthlings are transitioning from oligarchies to true democracies, from pure capitalism to envirocapitalism, from racial superiority culture to multiracial inclusionary culture.
We are in the midst of a titanic last ditch effort by dark forces to hold onto the political, economic and cultural systems of the past. So far, the dark forces appear to be winning. They have been preparing for these last days for decades. Now that the light has been shined on them, they are starting to squirm much like an Earthworm exposed to sunlight after blissfully burrowing in the darkness of the underworld.
But, they are in a position of power. They are using tools that for the rational person would seem inhumane, ignorant and illogical. Rationality cannot be assumed in the United States of America today. It has been purposefully undermined by disinformation and propaganda by disingenuous forces disguising themselves under a thin veneer of racial division, COVID chaos and warfare against peaceful people practicing democracy.
About midway through writing this piece, I watched a segment on the TV show 60 Minutes highlighting a project by National Public Radio called Story Corps. The concept behind StoryCorps came from the mind of NPR Producer Dave Isay. You can view an animated history of the project here.
"StoryCorps' mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world."
The focus of the 60 Minutes piece was another project that emerged in the spirit of StoryCorps putting a focus on getting people from opposite sides of the political spectrum together to talk. The program is called “One Small Step.” It provides a forum to talk with someone with an opposing political belief and to find some common ground with them by listening to their story.
I have tended to take a confrontational and sometimes antagonist tone in my writings. Although I believe that love needs to sometimes be tough, I think that Dave Isay and his staff at NPR are right on with “One Small Step.” As Dave said in his 60 Minutes interview, and I paraphrase: You won’t change anyones mind by calling them dumb, stupid or out of touch.
The link to how to get involved with “One Small Step” is linked in the previous paragraph.
We are all trying to make sense of a world that it is hard to find sense in these days. Perhaps we can take a lesson from “One Step at a Time” and step away from the anger of ignorance and take a step toward the peace of talking with each other.
Coming back to finish this after breakfast and after reading a Letter to the Editor in my local paper , The San Jose Mercury News, I am once again reminded of the power of disinformation and propaganda. My previous response would have been anger and vulgarity toward Mr. Gutmann. My new response is how about we try to find some common ground and talk to each other human being to human being. Thanks to Dave Isay and to Mr. Gutmann for coming together to bring about this change in me.