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« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2018, 06:17:01 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 6-20-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The study presented those surveyed with five factual statements (assertions that can be proven through observable evidence) and five opinion statements (expressions of values or beliefs), plus two “borderline” statements that could go either way. Respondents were asked to correctly identify which statements were factual and which were opinion. It should be noted that a factual statement may not be an accurate statement. For example, the survey statement, “Health care costs per person in the U.S. are the highest in the developed world,” is presented as definitively true, but its accuracy can be proven or disproven by various sources and data.
Of the 5,035 American adults who participated in the study, more than half were able to correctly identify at least three of the five factual and opinion statements correctly. Broadly speaking, those who were very interested in the news, those who were “digitally savvy” (comfortable navigating computers, smart devices and the Internet), and those with a high political awareness did better at differentiating fact from opinion.
But only 26% were able to correctly identify all five factual statements as such, and only 35% recognized all five opinion statements as opinion. Both self-identified Republicans and self-identified Democrats were more likely to believe an opinion statement as fact if the statement supported their ideological leanings.
This is a problem30.
We live in a nation that has become highly polarized politically, and we are simultaneously bombarded with a tsunami of media outlets, from mainstream/legacy media like CBS and The New York Times to aggregators like The Drudge Report to blogs of every conceivable flavor and bent. Increasingly, Americans gravitate toward news and opinion sources that cater to their personal biases.
One factor is the miserable state of education31 in the United States. Despite the highest per-student spending in the industrialized world, American students struggle to stay middle-of-the-pack in academic achievement as compared to their global peers. Too many students struggle to read and compute at grade level. They are taught to regurgitate what they are told rather than to use logic and reason to determine fact and truth. In other words, they are taught what to think rather than how to think.
This is compounded by a media universe that no longer presents news truthfully, much less objectively. News is presented with an ideological/political bias, twisting facts to comport with political agendas, and omitting relevant facts that might undermine a political narrative.
This dearth of objective, factual news, combined with an inability to reason, creates destructive dynamics in the social sphere. It renders large sections of the population incapable of engaging in reasoned debate without shouting down those who disagree with them. It increasingly leads to violence. Grown adults hear something that offends them and they become “micro-aggressed” and “triggered,” running to their “safe spaces” (stocked with crayons and Teddy bears and snacks32) to escape reality.
This must change, or it will bring about the downfall of our republic (fact check: America is a republic, not a democracy). American citizens must become well-versed in logic, reason, language, history and civics, to name but a few. It is impossible to reach a compromise on public policy when we can’t even agree on a set of facts. True education (as opposed to the progressive indoctrination that too often passes for “education” in our schools and colleges) enlightens, elucidates and civilizes. It brings about peaceful solutions to complex and contentious problems.
These universal truths were succinctly summed up by James Madison in an 1822 letter to W.T. Barry, declaring, “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
https://patriotpost.us/articles/56660-fact-or-opinion-americans-cant-tell-the-difference
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Obama’s Child Detention Photos You Have Not Seen33 — In 2014, journalists were given a media tour of two Obama administration detention facilities.
Republicans Blast FBI Bias Exposed in the IG Report34 — Graham and Gowdy slam Comey and the FBI for poorly handling the Clinton investigation.
SPLC Finally Gets a Taste of Its Own Medicine35 — The racial grievance industry linchpin is shelling over $3.4 million to settle a frivolous accusation.
Video: Jordan Peterson vs. ‘Social Justice Warriors’36 — John Stossel talks with the Canadian psychologist and professor about intolerant leftist politics.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Marc A. Thiessen: “When I worked in the George W. Bush White House and traveled to certain foreign countries with the president, we were required by the Secret Service to remove the batteries from our BlackBerrys, place them in a sealed plastic bag, and leave them on Air Force One for the duration of our visit to prevent foreign adversaries from hacking into the White House email system. But [Hillary] Clinton was so cavalier that she actually used not her government communications device but her unsecured private email to communicate directly with the president of the United States from the territory of a foreign adversary. By emailing Obama directly from hostile territory, she put both her own email system and the president’s at risk of foreign intrusion. Many Democrats blame Comey’s July 2016 statement for causing Clinton irreparable harm in the election. But we now know Clinton’s actions were worse than what Comey presented to the American people. Just imagine if his statement had been full and complete.”
SHORT CUTS
Upright: “I can say simultaneously that families should not be separated at the border and that the media coverage of the issue is hypocritical. I can say both that we need to tighten the border and that asylum seekers should not be considered in the same moral category as thieves and murderers. I can say at the same time that many — not all — critics of this policy are more interested in attacking Trump than doing the right thing, and that many — not all — defenders of this policy are more interested in defending Trump than doing the right thing. I can say that Sessions’ use of Scripture was really bad proof texting while at the same time saying that CNN and NPR’s sudden interest in Scripture not only is really bad proof texting but also oddly timed. Parents shouldn’t break the law with their children and we shouldn’t punish children for parents breaking the law. We’re going to have to walk and chew gum at the same time.” —Colson Center president John Stonestreet
The bottom line: “It strikes me that officials in our justice system should enforce our laws in ways that do not commit injustice. Our legal system should respect, not attack, human dignity. Apply this to abortion, immigration, marriage, antidiscrimination, religious liberty, etc.” —Ryan T. Anderson
Race bait: “There is a very obvious throughline connecting the worst moments and policies of this administration — the travel ban, Charlottesville, Puerto Rico and family separation at the border.” —MSNBC’s Chris Hayes
Braying Jenny: “So men, if you really are #WithUs and would like us to not hate you for all the millennia of woe you have produced and benefited from, start with this: Lean out so we can actually just stand up without being beaten down. Pledge to vote for feminist women only. Don’t run for office. Don’t be in charge of anything. Step away from the power. We got this. And please know that your crocodile tears won’t be wiped away by us anymore. We have every right to hate you. You have done us wrong.” —Northeastern University professor Suzanna Danuta Walters in The Washington Post
And last… “Prosecuting illegal aliens who break the law, kids in tow or not, isn’t inhumane. Open borders however, are inhumane.” —Katie Pavlich
https://patriotpost.us/articles/56664-wednesday-short-cuts
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Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher |
