We are not a nation of critical thinkers. We are not thinkers at all. Goodness knows, we used to be great thinkers. Our schools used to graduate very literate students prepared to join the society. Our news media used to relate events in a cogent, fairly non-partisan manner. Our politicians used to speak clearly, unambiguously to the people. Our people used to sit in clubs, taverns, social occasions, and lectures discussing politics with knowledge.
Now, we are knee-jerk reactionaries. Our leaders seek only to divide us; news media mindlessly repeats every schismatic idea. Our people no longer discuss politics, religion, current social trends out of fear of being ostracized, cancelled if you will, or fear of alienating friends or relatives.
When some idea is posed to us by our leaders or public figures, we have that virtually robotic response. Dependent upon who comes up with the grand idea, our response will be, at first blush, “Hell Yes…Let’s Do It Now!” or “Hell No…Never Buying That!”. We don’t analyze the proposition. We listen to the sound bites fed to us by a media outlet of our choice and conclude the scheme will or will not work.
Regardless of the proposal, we are content to take the scant information given us and make an intransigent decision, too often based on a political ideology and most often on a depth of knowledge. We have created an ultra-partisan dichotomy.
If President Biden tells us he is going to do this or that, fully half of us scream something about socialism, communism, destroying the Constitution. Conversely, if former President Trump tells us he is going to do this or that, fully half of us scream something about dictatorship, end of democracy, destroying the Constitution.
Rather than taking the time to consider the pros and cons, the benefits and the costs, the good and the evil, we willingly fall into the trap of ignorance, an ignorance thrust upon us, an ignorance we seem willing to accept. Those upon whom we rely for decision making information…the news media and the government…intentionally keep us the dark. They consider us unschooled, uninformed. They count on that. In fact, we have heard many times “the people aren’t able to understand” or “this is beyond the knowledge of the average American” or “the average American doesn’t grasp…”. Tell me you haven’t heard that spoken by a politician or a talking head. It’s demeaning, insulting, and purposefully. An ignorant population is a compliant population.
But, we bring this on ourselves. Too often we parrot the sound bites as if they are ultimate truths, not to be questioned.
Look at the 24-hour deluge of talk shows on television. Liberals tell Conservatives, “You’re watching Fox again”; Conservatives tell Liberals “You’re watching CNN or MSNBC again”. Nome of us should be watching either one without an ear to the flagrant partisanship they exhibit, and we are willingly drawn to that partisanship like bees to flowers.
The talk show hosts cite “statistics”. “A survey shows that 74% of Americans favor (whatever).” Let’s think quickly about that “survey”. It was likely a survey of 1400 people…or some other similar number. That’s a “sampling” and not particularly reliable. Often times it’s not the raw results of the survey, but how the reporters choose to report the results. Surveys results can be interpreted based upon the interpretation you want.
How often have we said, “You can’t trust what you hear.”? And that’s true. We should never take on blind faith what we see on television, read in the newspaper, or, more importantly, what the politicians tell us. We should always be skeptical and question.
Often times it’s not what is said as much as how it’s said, what words pr phrases chosen or what words or phrases left out.
By the way. The price of McDonald’s Fries is $7.00! That was posted on Twitter. Is it true? Actually, no, but it ran rampant and tweets went from “it’s a lousy economy” to “I’m never going to buy McDonald’s again”. Truth didn’t matter; only perception and reaction. How many actually stopped and thought about that. Think now. Honestly, would McDonald’s charge $7.00 for an order of fries? What size order was that? Was that as part of a meal or ala carte? A burger, fries, and a soft drink meal is $5.00. Fries alone depend upon the size: small order, $2.00; medium order, $3.45; large order, $4.10. So where did the $7.00 come from. It really doesn’t matter. What’s important is that the price was put out there to enflame reaction…and it worked. So, it’s incumbent on us to verify. That’s where thinking comes in.
The other part of thinking we have lost is listening. That’s a thinking skill we so often ignore. When we go to a function or engage in a conversation in a group, we don’t listen, instead we take one thing we would like to say and just hold onto that so tight until we can break in, even if the best moment for that comment has passed. We are not interested in listening to what others have to say, only in “making my point”. We are intent on scoring points.
We don’t like listening, as listening means we might hear something that will change our mind or shift our point of view. That’s called compromise.
We are entering election season now. Of course, politicians at any level will be making their “best” points. Dependent upon our political persuasion, we cannot accept any idea which might make “that” candidate look good in fear of them succeeding. We owe it to ourselves to be critical thinkers and listen…listen…then evaluate the intention. We may indeed come to the conclusion that it’s not something we can support, but that decision comes as a result of analysis.
Granted…to be sure…it’s not an easy task to listen, especially to ideas contrary to our own, but how else do we make informed decisions. When my grandmother would be talking to me when I was young, she would tell me to “keep your tongue in your pocket and listen, then think, then speak”. I thought that was pretty good advice.
Critical thinkers are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fear to understand things which clash with their own customs, prejudices, or beliefs.
It’s up to you…and me. Don’t wait for someone else to make a difference. Intentionally recover the values…stand up and fight by LISTENING to each other and THINKING!
