The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
Oscar Wilde
Growing up I used to enjoy going to my grandparents’ house because they had cable TV and with that came every kids favorite channel, Nickelodeon.
After a certain hour they would change their programming to Nick at Nite (not as scandalous as it sounds), where they would replay classic TV shows.
One of my favorites was the old police procedural Dragnet. The show was based around the main character Sergeant Joe Friday. If you are familiar with the show, then you remember that he had a famous line.
“Just the facts, ma’m”
He would say this as a suspect tried to get off topic, it was his effort to redirect and focus on what was most important to him as police officer.
The facts.
I think this is a message our society could use at this point. We seem to have veered from facts and replaced them with opinion, subjectivity and feelings.
I read an article recently where the author stated that we live in a, “fact resistant society.” I could not agree more with statement. The current pandemic only has solidified this view.
Why do facts matter?
Facts should be the source of truth and not biased.
Facts are typically efforts of rigor and objective evidence.
That is why Joe Friday wanted the facts.
He didn’t say, “Just your opinion, ma’m.”
Police officers have a duty to society to get the truth. When that process is subverted, facts are overlooked innocent people go to jail and criminals remains on the street.
Facts should be solid constructs of existing evidence that can’t be molded or shaped to meet an agenda.
Filter through the static.
Prior to the explosion of the internet the ability to get information out into the public was limited to either print, radio or network television.
Now anyone with a computer and internet connection can start a website and start posting information (this blog is a perfect example).
Unfortunately, this fire hose of information saturates us, and we suddenly have a hard time separating fact from fiction.
COVID-19 for instance. I have seen some really smart people, post some really head scratching things.
With our twenty-four-hour news cycle, internet fringes and constant exposure to media everyone now has a voice. While that’s not a problem, it is getting harder to differentiate the true experts from the false authorities.
All someone has to do is claim #FakeNews to immediately discredit any information no matter how legitimate it may actually be.
Be Aware of Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias where we tend to interpret new information in a way that supports our existing belief.
This plays out hundreds of times during the day.
If you are out of work because of COVID 19 then you are more likely to see the preventative measures taken as an overreach of government and anxiously support the re-opening of the economy.
If you are a healthcare worker and have seen first hand the impact of this virus, you are more likely to think that the government could have done more and are supportive of keeping things closed.
I realize I am making some big generalizations above and I am not trying to argue what opinion is right, I am just demonstrating that your preexisting beliefs determine how you interpret new information.
Look at your social media feeds, do you see varying points of view or only ones that are similar to yours?
It’s About the Evidence
Law enforcement officers often need more than just someone’s word to make the case, they need actual physical evidence as well.
Believe or not this is true in life. Just because someone says a certain drug will work, doesn’t mean it will.
Just because someone knows someone’s friend who had a miraculous recovery after taking a certain supplement doesn’t mean anything.
The old saying applies, “Correlation does not equal causation.”
In healthcare we rely on a process known as evidenced based practice. A treatment or therapy won’t be adopted until it has been proven effective through rigorous scientific testing.
When possible, this should involve the gold standard of research, a randomized controlled trial. This type of study takes any chance of bias or manipulation out of the equation.
Fortunately, this is why you did not see a mass adoption of using hydroxychloroquine despite a lot of exposure in the press and attention from the President. You really need randomized controlled trials, not anecdotes to prove efficacy.
You want your healthcare treatments to be as scientifically proven as possible, the goal is to keep patients safe, there is not some deeper political conspiracy.
Be A Responsible Consumer
A smart consumer always does their due diligence before making a purchase. You should also be a smart consumer of information.
If at all possible confirm that the information you share is coming from a reputable source. It really is your responsibility to not add to the problem.
For example if the source is conservativenews.com, nevertrump.net, liberalsrule.org you may want to question before you share. Any sites with a .com, .net, even .org address have some agenda or commercial stake in the game.
It is getting increasingly harder to find non-biased sources. Which means we have to be even more on our toes before sharing.
#differentviews
Be open to different points of view.
It’s okay if you change your mind.
It must be really miserable to live in a world where you are in a constant state of paranoia dissecting what the “other side” is doing to bring down society.
Yes, sometimes liberals have good points, yes sometimes conservatives are right. Sometimes they are both wrong and the truth is the middle.
Don’t reflexively claim #FakeNews if you don’t agree with something. That is the most intellectually lazy thing you can do.
That is the great thing about this country is we are all entitled to our individual points of view.
Sometimes the facts don’t support your opinion and that’s ok. But they are the facts.
That is not #FakeNews
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