Where do you get your news?

Prior to 2006, I was asleep and believed that the news was the news. I was in my 40’s and only vaguely aware that the news media wasn’t completely honest and the news itself wasn’t completely true.

I naively chalked it up to the fact that human beings are not robots. Everybody has their own life experience. They have opinions and those opinions bleed into their job as journalists.

I certainly had my life’s experience. I had served in the military from just after high school until retirement and had some opinions. But, I wasn’t completely plugged into the world. I didn’t have the time. Work, family, and life was my focus. One day at a time. Let’s get through this one and try to get some sleep so I can function tomorrow and not lose my job. That was me.

I was finally starting to pay attention more to news and talk radio and noticed (finally) that it seemed more than just personal opinions sneaking into the reporting. I finally noticed that they were pushing ideas at us incessantly. Almost everybody you could read or watch or listen to was pushing an agenda.

I was working night shift. A mundane tech job in the basement of a hospital. I worked alone and listened to radio or podcasts, which were just starting to become a thing. At that time, I believed that there were two sides – the right and the left, conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats. I need to start by saying that at that point, I leaned to the right and I still do. But, I’ve been on a journey and it started like this. Late in 2005, I decided to do an experiment on myself. I had two goals.

The first goal: I was pretty rooted on the right, but I couldn’t tell you why. I sometimes could kind of see where people on the left were coming from, but I often felt that just when they almost had me convinced that I should rethink my beliefs, they would take it a step too far and lose me.  I wanted to see how much a person like me could be swayed to change my beliefs and change to another side.

The second goal: I felt that I believed the things that were right and that people on the other side were wrong and they just didn’t know it. Look around today and you’ll know what I mean because it seems like that is how far too many people are right now.

I didn’t think they were stupid. I didn’t think that they didn’t have the right to believe it. But, I didn’t have enough empathy to understand why they believed what they believed. I didn’t have the same facts they had because my sources of information were only telling me what they wanted me to hear. I was stuck in my own mind. I wanted to find out for myself how I could better see issues from more angles and at least understand why those on the “other side” believed what they believed even if I didn’t ultimately change my own beliefs.

From January 1, 2006 to July 1, 2006, I listened only to liberal podcasts when I was at my night shift job. I deliberately didn’t listen to Rush Limbaugh during the day, which had been my go-to talk radio show for more than a decade. I don’t remember all the names, but Randi Rhodes was one. I think Young Turks was around then. And, I remember Democracy Now!. I listened to nothing but liberal liberal liberal. It changed me. It changed how I thought. It changed how I talked to people. I was surprised and a little upset that other people had that much control over my thoughts. I committed to learning more about what I believed and why I believed it instead of believing it just because I do. I wanted to know why and be able to explain it to anybody that asked.

I was somebody that had some beliefs that I couldn’t back up with facts or proof that I had really thought much about the issue before I arrived at my conclusion. Don’t be that person. Know what you believe and know why you believe it and you’ll make the world a better place. Especially if the why is based on actual facts. 😉

On July 1, 2006, I switched to conservative podcasts. I allowed myself to listen to Rush Limbaugh during the day. It was definitely more of a comfort zone and I obviously was more in tune with what they were saying and pretty quickly reverted back to my original beliefs that were based on a much longer life experience than just a six month experiment.

The Liberal Pros
The liberals challenged me. I did get a glimpse into what they thought and why they thought it. They made good points that I had never heard before while primarily paying attention to conservative views. I had more facts from more angles than I had previously and I had a different view of the world. Listening to them made me a better person.

The Liberal Cons
The liberals were “snarky” for the lack of a better term. They seemed more condescending and pretty rigid in their beliefs and they had their heels dug in. They weren’t going to change. They think what they think and that’s it. Very committed. And, if you didn’t agree, then you were dumb and they would mock and laugh at you.

The Conservative Pros
All I can really say is that it aligned with my preexisting opinions and was easier to listen to for me. I think that’s to be expected. I can say definitively that I was used to the snark I had been listening to and the absence of it was delightful.

The Conservative Cons
How do you pick on the side you most identify with? I will say that they exhibited some of the same flaws that I observed on the liberal side. They only presented cherry-picked facts that matched the conservative narrative or aligned with conservative goals. They would also sometimes be condescending and mock those on the other side, but not nearly as much as I observed with the liberal shows.

The Take Away
To be able to be informed completely, you must expose yourself all sides of every issue! I can’t stress this enough and I can tell you with 100% certainty that there are very few people who do this successfully.

Go ahead and watch CNN, Fox, etc. Just do it knowing that what you are hearing is not the truth. You are hearing part of the story. The part of the story they want you to hear. The rest is suppressed and if you want to hear that part, you need to go somewhere else and fill in that blank. If you just watch and read what we call the mainstream media, you will here quick and dirty version of the issues of the day. Not very detailed. Only as much truth as they want to share. Agenda-driven and designed to keep you coming back for more so they can make money.

If you disagree with what I just said, this blog is going to annoy you until the end of your days. I just stated my assessment of today’s news media to establish a fact that I believe 100%. We can certainly discuss it and I’d love to hear from people who disagree as long as civility rules the day. If you just want to mock me or call me names, you have the right to do that and you also have the right to be the recipient of the same kind of behavior from me. But, I’d rather not go there with anybody and that’s not why this blog exists. Free speech comes with responsibility. My definition of that begins with civility and respect.

I concluded that people tend to already have their own beliefs and seek to listen and talk with people who confirm their beliefs. Not a surprise at all, right? We knew that without my little experiment.

Both sides exhibited some behavior that borders on a big word to use – bigotry. Both sides dug in their heels and stick to the narrative. They sounded like they were right and the other side was wrong and that was the end of it. I believe doing that stifles meaningful conversation and gets in the way of working through an issue to find the best solution available.

We all need to understand this very important point. Most people do not get up in the morning with the goal of going out and believing the wrong thing and doing their best to make the world a terrible place. They believe what they believe and they are convinced that the world be better if it was the way they want it to be. All sides have valid points that we have never thought of and we must know and remember that at all times.

Listening to the “other side” made me a better person. It gave me a more well-rounded set of facts. It gave me new angles from which I could approach an issue. Since 2006, I have taught myself to learn all sides of an issue before I begin to believe anything at all. I said all sides. I did not say both sides.

I recommend this to every single person reading this. It may take time. Commit to it. It will change your life. Open your mind. Keep your mind open, but not so open that your brain falls out. Listen. Truly listen. Think before you respond. Ask good questions and listen more. When you are asked a question, be able to answer it and explain why.

I learned that there are more than two sides to every issue. It’s not just liberal vs conservative and all of that. People are people. Every single one of them is the only one that has walked their life in their shoes. Every single person has something meaningful to add and our freedom of speech is crucial to a thriving society.

On RemainSilent.Online, I will rail against those who are shutting down freedom of speech around the world. I will also rail against those who abuse that freedom at the expense of others. I will also point out the hypocrites. I could write about this daily from now until the day I die. There is a lot more to come on freedom of speech.

We elect representatives that go to Washington D.C. to represent us. They pick a side and they stay there. They play politics. Winning and power are the goals and it doesn’t matter how you get there. Big problem! Huge! There is no issue that they can’t resolve and come to a solution that all sides can live with if they truly want what’s best for the people of this country.

Why do they do it and why does it continue? Because we let them continue. We forget that we are their employers. They are the employees. They are there to represent us and when they don’t do that, we reelect them anyway. It’s on us. It’s our fault. A topic for another day.

RS