A neighborhood friend has different political views than I. In fact, I have several friends who hold different opinions on politics and the direction of the country. I enjoy listening to various views and debating the same. However, one particular friend occasionally posts online notations which are completely false. Just the other day while doing yard work this individual stopped by for a porch-sitting-spell. I seized the moment to point out to him that I googled a recent Facebook post of his to determine its credibility. His post was debunked and I suggested to him that he should research some of those posts before sharing them. His response absolutely shocked me. "I don't care if the post was true are not true, I just wanted to believe it," he said. I was speechless.
I recall years ago a good friend of mine privately told me that I had used a word incorrectly. I was not offended but appreciative. I cannot begin to count the number of times in my journey when my 'wrong' has been pointed out and consequently I made adjustments.Truth is truth and I wish to embrace it. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being 'right' on matters but I want evidence to anchor my position.
This aforementioned conversation exchange caused me to wonder, 'are Americans getting dumber?'
Well, I researched the topic and lo' and behold, we are getting dumber. In fact there's either a lot of bull-headed people wondering around or folks simply in a state of denial according to research findings resulting in Americans falling far behind other countries when it comes to word and number proficiency and consequently the ability to problem solve. It seems today we have more schooling but less knowledge. Our critical thinking has become rusty. Today, we have so-called educated people dismissing factual evidence of climate change and others refusing to vaccinate children even in the face of a preponderance of evidence regarding scientific facts and/or benefits.
There is unquestionably growing evidence that more and more Americans refuse to 'trust' experts in specific fields but instead live in their own world of >'it's what I want to believe.'
No comments:
Post a Comment