Catchy title, I know.
But unfortunately, this seems to be the pervading mindset among most Americans these days. We seem to refuse to even think that there might be some truth to what those who disagree with us are saying. We've made our colorful world strictly black and white.
Imagine that you're standing face to face with me. I hold up a twenty dollar bill, and a third person asks us what we see. I start by saying that I see I picture of Andrew Jackson, I see "Federal Reserve Note", and I see the seal of the Treasury Department. As I am about to continue describing what I see, you start blurting out that I'm wrong. You don't see any of what I'm seeing. You see a picture of the White House; you see the words "In God We Trust"; you don't see anything about the seal of the Treasury. As you're raising your voice, I start raising my voice and getting defensive. I begin saying that you are wrong and what I'm seeing is correct. By now, as you see this illustration in your head, you know that we're both right, we're just viewing the same thing from a different perspective. But we're both adamant about our positions, because we're only trying to see it from our perspective. Welcome to political arguments, 21st Century edition.
So what's the point? Are you saying that two people who see something completely different could both be right? Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Even when it comes to politics? Especially when it comes to politics.
Pick up your jaw from off of the floor and let me explain a little bit through a few examples.
Lets talk a little about "Fake News":
Question 1: Is there a large segment of the media that is opposed to Trump? Yes there are.
Question 2: Does Trump do some incredibly stupid and irresponsible things? Of course he does. Just look at the firing of Comey debacle. White House said the firing had nothing to do with Russia investigation. Trump says the next day that it had to do with Russia. I honestly feel bad for Priebus and Spicer sometimes. Whether or not Trump or his campaign is guilty of any collusion with Russia, you've got to admit that the timing of this and the explanations of it were incompetent at best and obstructionist at worst.
Question 3: Are there some in the media who are so enamored with Trump that they think that his farts smell like exquisite French potpourri? Yes. Listen to Hannity for a few minutes and you'll see what I mean. (Ok, that might have been a slight overstatement, but Hannity has seriously lost it when it comes to Trump. If you want some fake news, just look at Hannity's refusal to drop the conspiracy about Seth Rich, even after the family asked him to stop. Hannity was also a huge birther back in 2012. Fake News. Very bad. Wrong. Sad.)
So is it entirely possible that many in the media have published negative stories about Trump AND Trump has done some and said some extremely ill-advised and straight-up dumb things? The answer is YES.
So what does all of this have to do with us? What's the point?
We need to start looking at things objectively, and not subjectively. We need to read with the intent to find the truth. We need to understand that my truth and your truth just might both be true. Remember the example of the twenty dollar bill? Both were right, but both failed to see the other point of view.
The Apostle Paul told the church of Ephesus to walk "circumspectly, not as fools". Synonyms of circumspect include "prudent" and "cautious". That means we're supposed to examine things completely before we jump to conclusions. Circumspectly carries the connotation that we are to "walk around" an issue before we come to a conclusion; not like the fools who jump right in.
Lord Byron, the great British poet once said, "Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves."
Don't be a slave.
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