The impact so far. Thoughts in June 2023.
There are times in life where we all have to really think about the world. Since the first half of 2020, yup, three years ago from now. A new, dangerous ideology has emerged. I am surprised, saddened and a bit confused about the rather fluid state of affairs in the world at the moment. There we were, just months into a global pandemic. The first one in over a century. And because of this outbreak, I have noticed quite a few things have changed.
The media is no longer trusted as a source of real information, but the internet is! This is completely ridiculous. The vast majority of journalists have a code of ethics, and a professional responsibility to report the facts of a situation. Do individul media outlets have a bias? Sure. Is it a problem? Not really. Media, from TV news, national magazines, and local papers can be pressured by advertising and sponsors to discuss certain stories in a certain way. As people we all discuss certain things in certain ways. We use our existing scope of knowledge to analyze and express our opinion on a new situation, but we are influenced by our past. We, as humans are also aware that there are multiple sides to any story. In fact we should always respond with " Well, that's an interesting take on that." Just because it wasn't your original position does not mean it's wrong, just different, and further investigation might be worth it to determine even more truth.
Scientist are also considered untrustworthy. An absolutely a wrong opinion.
A society that stops trusting experts in the field, and mainstream reporting is in trouble.
YouTube is an unfiltered place where anyone can promote any idea or opinion. The average 12 year old is quite adept at video and image editing to make what could be considered "fake news" a terrible term I attribute to Donald Trump. In the worlds of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, He has single-handedly made discounting anything he doesn't believe in as simple as saying those words, and dismissing it with a wave of his hand.
It is a tragedy of the modern information age where individuals have access to hoards of documents, video footage and contrasting stories of any issue as well as the massive and, somewhat vetted, online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to find real truth. There is no reason for us not to be able to find the truth of an item. Except that the easy access to the internet has trained people to search only for supporting arguments and information that confirms their existing beliefs. That isn't real research skills. That's just reinforcing your position without accepting any new information. It's called Confirmation Bias. This is also a tragedy, and a failure of education. We must learn to be more open minded. Adjust our views as new information presents itself. There are scientists and experts that can explain the truth of almost anything. Yes, science changes. New information and experiments alter the truth as we know it. That is the point of scientific inquiry. It does not make it flawed.
Conspiracy theories are growing at an exponential rate.
From the completely foolish Anti-Vax groups, to the incredibly obtuse Flat-Earthers. This is simple science that these people are refuting. Science, not opinion or theory, but actual, proven science. It is ludicrous, and yet it is becoming increasingly clear there are are far more intelligent yet gullible people in the world than we knew about. And the freedom of the internet is allowing them to be manipulated by incorrect opinions.
What is the point?
These theories are also present in regards to the current Global Pandemic where a good many people believe again that the scientists, politicians, and of course the media is involved in some grand hoax to train the public into subservient beasts following the rules of law and releaasing our fragile grip on our autonomy. What is the point? What is the point of governments around the globe facing crippling debt as their economies falter from measures enacted to protect the citizens in favor of commerce? What do they get out of this so called hoax? What do the media get? And the scientists? If they are all in this together then there must be some grand outcome awaiting all these magically coordinated players right? Well what is it? I cannot think of a single thing I have ever experienced that united countries and media in an effort to protect people like Covid -19. And yet there are still those who think its all a ruse of some kind. They rant and sometimes protest about the hardships they are facing. I have read multiple admissions from people who state proudly "I will never wear a mask." I cannot think of a more foolish statement in the face of this relatively new and unknown virus. At least some of these deniers are bound to get infected, some of them may become seriously ill. There is a very good chance they will be wearing a mask at some point. An oxygen mask perhaps, or worse a ventilator. When faced with death I think a simple mask in public seems like a pretty small inconvenience.
Black Lives Matter.
This one keeps on coming around to me personally on various social media. I have stated my position several times and I am continually infuriated by the counter argument "All Lives Matter"
The fact is that people of colour are disproportionately profiled, targeted, and even killed by law enforcement. This is a problem because the key word here is disproportionately. Yes, other people have troubles. No, it isn't only black people being arrested, targeted or killed. But it is happening more than it should based on population percentages. That's the problem. Black Lives Matter isn't a literal statement, its a conceptual idea trying to draw attention to the disproportionate nature of the issues.
Of course all lives matter but not all lives are in trouble. People of colour are the ones facing the persecution if I may, and that's what awareness they are trying to raise. To use an analogy, You are driving home from work, and realize you have a flat tire. You need to change that tire. Now, do all tires matter or just the one that went flat? Will you change them all, or just the problematic one? It is as simple as that.
Or in another instance: Imagine your house is on fire. Do you want the fire department to swing by and dowse the entire neighbourhood because all houses matter, or do you think it best that they pay attention just to you? Black Lives Mater is a reference to the fact that they are disproportionately victimized by law enforcement. Culturally, their house is on fire and they would like everyone to pay attention to that, and perhaps pressure those responsible to make changes.
Things have changed since 2020, and it's not for the better. We used to believe that ignorance was a lack of access to correct information, that no longer is the case and it will be a cultural and societal problem for some time to come. Unless we can regroup. Unless the real, basically educated among us can accept that others are more intelligent and have knowledge and information we don't. Until we believe the local, regional, and national newscasters are not a part of some fantastic, illuminati, group manipulating the world. Do you understand how difficult that would be? Have you ever tried to get a group of five or more to fully agree on something in a meeting for school or work? It's nearly impossible. So the idea that hundreds of thousands of politicians, scientists and reporters are working in a coordinated effort to fool is absolutely ludicrous.
We need to get back to a world where we believe in the world around us and stop running around defending ourselves from imaginary attacks on our rights and freedoms. Because those things aren't happening. Others know more than you. Trust them to explain and advise you what is going on.
