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.
In the spirit of how to debunk misinformation and disinformation, I encourage you to examine The Financial Services Forum, The American Accountability Foundation, The Epoch Times, Fox News, and One America Network(OAN), among others, using the media literacy skills taught by the News Literacy Project from #1 above under "How to Debunk." Click on the News Literacy Project link to start your work.
I want to say that I’ve been right all along. I probably have been, but it would be far too arrogant for a retired middle school science teacher to say that about anything, let alone politics in the U.S of A. in the early part of the 21st Century.
Maybe it would be better to say that it isn’t arrogant to speak your opinion (or write them as I prefer to do), but it would be arrogant to think that anyone was actually following me or, pray God, listening to me or, shockingly, agreeing with me. Now that is the epitome of arrogance. I don’t entertain any fantasy that I should be taken seriously.
I’m a big picture thinker. I often hesitate to write on specific topics because I just don’t know enough about virtually anything in order to have an opinion on anything. Thank God that there are people that I can read or listen to that actually know something that I can have an opinion on. Because I’m simply not going to take the time to dwelve deeply enough into anything, even singing, that would be worth taking the time to read in order to learn something.
I’m the antithesis of author and all-arround interesting dude, Bill Bryson. Bryson’s book “A Brief History of Just About Everything” shows that one person can accumulate (or convince you that he has accumulated) enough knowledge to write a self proclaimed history of everything. Even though he addresses an amazing variety of topics with an equally amazing amount of lucidity, Bryson is really taking a poke at himself in this book. That’s what makes it so much fun. When you’re not thinking “oh, I didn’t know that, that’s cool, you’ll most likely be laughing because Bryson has a great sense of humor and a much larger than average way of communicating that humor to make things funny.
It’s ok to laugh. In fact, you better spend more time laughing because it’s good for you. Just ask the Mayo Clinic as I did. In fact, googling for information is my second most effective method of information gathering. It is second only to listening to my wife read or summarize news stories from the New York Times or the Washington Post.
No, no, don’t stop laughing! Just because I read those left wing rags, they don’t make me dull, boring and unlikable. Us liberals really do have a sense of humor. Mine has taken a few hits since June 16, 2015 (and somewhat before that but 2015 is my standard and I’m sticking with it). I have to laugh at anything and everything that I can given that so much of what is going on makes you want to cry instead of laugh.
Because I intend to continue laughing beyond November 5, 2024, I’m going to seek out things that make me laugh and smile while working my ass off to make sure that all of us Americans have something to smile and laugh about come November 6, 2024 and January 20, 2025.
I appreciate your humor!