The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him. - Proverbs 18:17
If you want to become informed about politics on any level in the United States, you have a lot working against you. Human nature already has a number of built-in biases--like distorted fun-house mirrors of the mind--that allow us to be satisfied with half-truths and even total fictions if they make us feel more comfortable about ourselves or our understanding of the world.
Confirmation bias, for example, is when we seek out and interpret only the information that will confirm what we think we already know. (In a courtroom, asking questions with a confirmation bias would be disqualified as "leading the witness"). In fact, courtrooms have quite a few rules designed to reduce bias and eliminate prejudice in order to get at the truth of a matter. Many of these rules have been in use for thousands of years, and we'll look at how these principles can help us in our reading of the news.
The quickest way to challenge your biases and come to your own understanding of an issue is to look at multiple sources, especially ones with which you expect to disagree. On the internet, a good way to start doing this is by visiting Google News, as stories are grouped by topic from multiple sources and it's easy to search for issues that interest you.
Confirmation bias, for example, is when we seek out and interpret only the information that will confirm what we think we already know. (In a courtroom, asking questions with a confirmation bias would be disqualified as "leading the witness"). In fact, courtrooms have quite a few rules designed to reduce bias and eliminate prejudice in order to get at the truth of a matter. Many of these rules have been in use for thousands of years, and we'll look at how these principles can help us in our reading of the news.
The quickest way to challenge your biases and come to your own understanding of an issue is to look at multiple sources, especially ones with which you expect to disagree. On the internet, a good way to start doing this is by visiting Google News, as stories are grouped by topic from multiple sources and it's easy to search for issues that interest you.
Remember to look at the sources inside the story: If different newspapers or TV networks are citing the same source, that only counts as one source, or one side of the story. Even if you disagree with a specific characterization of an issue, it is important to look for valid points that the opposition is making, and looking at an issue from another perspective can often add shades of depth to your own understanding.
Beware of anonymous sources! Sometimes anonymity is required to protect a source--i.e. Deep Throat in the Watergate story--, but today anonymity is granted frequently to those who doesn't want to be held accountable for their position or their information (we'll look at this more in depth later).
Accountability is going to be a big theme of this blog, namely politicians being held accountable to their stated positions, journalists being held accountable to the citizenry they are responsible to inform and most of all, holding ourselves accountable to our ideas, opinions, beliefs and the consequences they manifest.
For now, I'd recommend taking Google News out for a spin and seeing what you can learn about a controversial topic that you didn't already know. For the comments, I'd love to hear Where you get most of your news from, and what do you like about that particular source?
Beware of anonymous sources! Sometimes anonymity is required to protect a source--i.e. Deep Throat in the Watergate story--, but today anonymity is granted frequently to those who doesn't want to be held accountable for their position or their information (we'll look at this more in depth later).
Accountability is going to be a big theme of this blog, namely politicians being held accountable to their stated positions, journalists being held accountable to the citizenry they are responsible to inform and most of all, holding ourselves accountable to our ideas, opinions, beliefs and the consequences they manifest.
For now, I'd recommend taking Google News out for a spin and seeing what you can learn about a controversial topic that you didn't already know. For the comments, I'd love to hear Where you get most of your news from, and what do you like about that particular source?
Next up: Watchdog groups.
Ideas for controversial topics: ACORN and its recent federal de-funding, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, America's position on Iran's Nuclear Facilities, Obama's nobel prize.
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