Thinking for yourself

Someone commented recently that the problem today isn't that Johnny can't read; it's that Johnny doesn't know how to think. Unfortunately, this isn't limited to young people leaving school. We see it throughout our society. People are unable to think for themselves, to gather information and make informed decisions without having to have some talking head on TV telling them what to believe.

One of the most entertaining features (at least, to me) on Jay Leno's Tonight show was his man-on-the-street interviews. He would stop people and ask them questions about current events. Few of the people he asked answered correctly. He would show them pictures of well-known leaders in the country, and they often didn't know who they were. Of course, they could name all the Kardashians or pop stars, but they were completely unaware of the people or issues who had the greatest impact on their lives.

During recent protests people were asked why they were protesting. Many of them didn't know. They were told to show up, probably paid money to be there, and began yelling whatever script they were given. Others were given quotes that were supposedly made by certain politicians and asked their opinion. They readily agreed with the quote. Only then were they told the quote came from a politician they didn't support.

We turn on the news each night to hear the stations version of various stories. Many who watch accept these versions as truth without ever confirming the information for themselves. We hear a lot about fake news today, and much of it is true. Only, fake news isn't new at all. James Fallows is a former editor of the U. S. News and World Report and writes for numerous major news magazines. For two years he was the chief speech writer for President Jimmy Carter. He has spent a lifetime in the media.

In 1997 he wrote Breaking The News: How the Media Undermine American Democracy. He explained how the media doesn't report the news; it makes the news. It does so by deciding which, of all the possible stories it could cover, it would focus on and how the story would be spun. Fallows complains that rather than doing detailed stories on important topics, the media spends a few minutes on each story presenting speakers who give the story the right amount of spin. As he writes, "Journalists] inescapably change the reality of whatever they are observing by whether and how they choose to write about it." It is a fascinating book because it comes from one on the inside who has been a major player in the media.

But, for many people, what they hear in a 30-second soundbite is all they know about an event and assume the reporter must be correct in his or her assessment. That becomes their perspective as well. So we have people going around parroting whatever their favorite news person says or writes without spending one minute thinking about the matter for themselves.

This is one reason our nation is in the trouble it's in. We let other people, who have agendas, do our thinking for us. God gave us a mind. Let's use it! Rather than automatically taking the perspective of our political party or the news person we watch or what someone tells us we ought to believe, let's begin to think for ourselves. Let's begin to form our own opinions based upon actual facts.

I wonder what our nation would look like if people chose to think for themselves. I would really like to know.