Posted on by Bruce Halen

Make America Great for All

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

If you want to stand by and stand for M.A.G.A. , stand for this version: Make America Great for All. This is the only M.A.G.A. The other version held up as the guiding darkness of the Radical, Racist, Repulsive Right Wing of the Republican Party is untrue, unjust, Unamerican and unacceptable.

The history of racism in the U.S.A. is well documented and yet it remains largely unaddressed. Until it is addressed, we will continue to be susceptible to White Nationalist Fascist movements like the one we are experiencing right now. The systematic devaluation of darker skinned Americans must end and it must end on our watch.

How will it end? Here are some suggestions from the United Nations. I personally attempt to address it as a white ally with a small blog and standing with my Unitarian Universalist brethren to keep systemic White Nationalist-based racism in the forefront of the American psyche.

Jackie Robinson, Barack Obama and Martin Luther King stand tall in our American quest for greatness.

Where do you stand?

7 Replies to “Make America Great for All”

  2. Over the last few years I have realized how shallow my knowledge of racial justice and racial unjustice is, and therefore how simplistic my thoughts on solutions were. The more I educate myself and let go of the easy history teachings, the more I understand the systemic depth of the problem and how important it is to ally with those who have lived it.

  3. Thank you for the resource – love the global perspective from the UN!

  4. I think it’s important that we all look deeply and discover our unnoticed racial biases. We all have them having been raised in this white society. We aren’t bad; we’re products of our culture. But, we must be responsible for acknowledging our white privilege and white bias before we can change it.

    1. Ted, I had to go to Meredy’s New York Times account to read this (she has the Times subscription and I have the Washington Post subscription) and you are right. This is a powerful non-racial statement on King’s revolutionary message of addressing injustice and inequality wherever it exists.

      I come from a religious foundation that built my passion for the ideals of justice and equality. I no longer consider myself Christian, but I do follow the New Testament revolutinery teachings of Jesus. This is where MLK derived the ideals that Christians have lost sight of today. If they followed their religious namesake, we would be well on the way of fulfilling the dream that MLK so brilliantly and clearly expressed.

      I hope your new year is off to a good start!

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