Never a time has information been so accessible!
And so confusing!
The popularity of the internet and social media has made it difficult for the average citizen to weed through published material to arrive at the truth – at least as far as they see it!
It can be confusing. During the COVID pandemic which began in March 2020, material could be found everywhere supporting both sides of the debate. How was Average Q. Citizen supposed to sort through it when doctors could not agree?
If you examine closely and without prejudice, you will find most people like articles that agree with their point of view. With the internet and social media, articles can easily be found supporting their view. So, it is passed on as truth. Doesn’t mean it’s the truth, but it supports their view. So be it!
American TV and radio stations are so biased it is hard to believe anything they report. Most are tied very closely to specific political ideology, i.e, Conservative or Liberal. The public responds. Republicans watch Republican-biased news and Democrats the same. Where is the real truth? Likely somewhere in the middle. No one is right 100 per cent of the time and no one is wrong 100 per cent of the time.
Canadian media is no better. The CBC comes to mind!
It seems the more people try to be informed, the more confused they get. Governments love this. Confusion makes it very easy for them to present their point of view. So-called propaganda machines are at work every day.
Want proof? Ever see the federal, provincial, municipal government or school board admit they were wrong? They know they are not perfect but rarely do they let the public know they goofed. Too busy writing the next flowery news release telling the public how hard they are working! A little more substance next time.
Indeed, too many lousy students are being produced by our school systems (lots of good ones, also!) and there is tremendous waste in government operations. You would never know it from reading the HPSD or Big Lakes County websites. Everything is rosy! It is specifically why there is so much public distrust in what governments are telling their people. Do we really need to spend public money stroking the egos of politicians and/or management in a flowery news release?
Perhaps the one individual who said it best was Snoopy, of Peanuts fame. Regular readers of my commentaries know I refer to the comic strips often for wisdom.
Snoopy is doing his Beagle Dance one day when Lucy approaches. She scolds Snoopy for being so happy and tells him he would not be so full of joy if he knew what was going on in the world. Snoopy has an answer.
“I don’t want to know! I’m outrageously happy in my stupidity!”
Think about what Snoopy said. If you don’t know about all the wars in the world, corruption and greed in politics, natural disasters, disease, etc. there is nothing to worry about. What you don’t know won’t hurt you!
Unfortunately, the human desire is to be informed. It is not wrong. An informed person can change the world rather than one who sits by and ignores everything. Snoopy choses to ignore the world but does not accomplish anything rather than learning a few new dance steps.
But is Snoopy happy? Darn right! Outrageously happy!
Chris Clegg