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.
Former President Joe Biden on the life of former President Jimmy Carter:
"That's the definition of a good life," Biden said. "It was the life Jimmy Carter lived for 100 years, a good life of purpose, meaning and a character driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope and love."
President Carter’s Vice President Walter Mondale on their administration:
"We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace."
Jimmy Carter was a white Southern Baptist Christian for his entire life. He was by all accounts and by the life that he lived, a man who followed the teachings of his God through Jesus Christ. I’m not going to get all religious on you, but it is important to note that the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, is also a white Southern Baptist.
By their association with the same Southern Baptist Church, you’d figure that they shared similar views on their faith and approach to life. Carter lived his faith while in the White House. Carter did not force his faith tradition on the American people. He took his oath to the Constitution of the United States seriously.
Mike Johnson, although not openly affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) which I introduced you to in my last post, appears to be guided by this movement that is bent on what is know as “The Seven Mountain Mandate.” Those “mountains” being: government, education, media, family, religion, arts and entertainment, and business. There are links with more information on NAR in my last post.
This is a far cry from the separation of church and state called for by none other than our own Constitution in the very First Amendment to the founding document. It protects the separation of church and state from establishing a state religion. This is know as the Establishment Clause.
As I understand it, all public officials are required to swear an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Failure to do so is a breach of their oath and can result in removal from office, confinement or fine. Individuals who violate their oath can also be impeached for not upholding the oath that they swore to in front of friend, family and other government officials.
Mike Johnson should be removed from his office as Speaker of the House for a failure to live up to the his oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
Mike Johnson is not alone in his failure to uphold his oath of allegiance to the Constitution.
The world that President Carter and Vice President Mondale lived in is the same world we live in today. The difference being not that the world is different. What is different is that a religious movement based on the principle of White Supremacy has hijacked white Christianity.
Pastor Daniel Hill in his 2020 book “White Lies” identifies White Supremacy as a parasite within the white Christian church. The purpose of his book is “to expose and resist the racial systems that divide us.”
President Carter did as Walter Mondale stated in his posthumous eulogy to the former president. “We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace.”
We should expect the same from all democratically elected presidents in the United States. We owe it to each other to make that happen. Rise, Resist and Unite.
One more thought. This president obviously learned a few things from his first term debacle. But there is one important lesson that he just as obviously hasn’t yet learned. You can’t rule a democracy by decree.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, like the Episcopal Deacon of Washington, Mary ann Budde, speaks truth to power. Read his views on economics.
And to take a 16 week course from Professor Reich on “Wealth and Poverty” click on the adjacent link.