Protecting America From Fake News

newsmax ^ | Nov 23, 2017 | David Ignatius

[mad_as_he$$]

As resumes go, pretty varied and extensive. Why is he so ignorant now?

[Praetorian]

It is a joke used to make fun of people who claim that there are 72 genders.

Lauren Southern

[Spok]

You can’t protect people from lies; they must be educated. Assuming the media always tells the truth and the government always acts in good faith are myths that have to be debunked.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

What should thoughtful people do about this overarching problem?

We should eschew cynicism, but apply reasonable skepticism broadly:

The natural disposition is always to believe. It is acquired wisdom and experience only that teach incredulity, and they very seldom teach it enough. The wisest and most cautious of us all frequently gives credit to stories which he himself is afterwards both ashamed and astonished that he could possibly think of believing.

The man whom we believe is necessarily, in the things concerning which we believe him, our leader and director, and we look up to him with a certain degree of esteem and respect. But as from admiring other people we come to wish to be admired ourselves; so from being led and directed by other people we learn to wish to become ourselves leaders and directors . . .

The desire of being believed, the desire of persuading, of leading and directing other people, seems to be one of the strongest of all our natural desires. - Adam Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)

One reason to reject cynicism is that cynicism is an antonym for “faith” - and “without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Another reason to reject cynicism, IMHO, is that cynicism actually is a rejection of skepticism about the opposite of whatever you are cynical about. Are you, Mr. journalist, cynical about Judge Roy Moore? Then you are actually naive about his accusers. Are you, Mr. socialist, cynical about society? Then you are naive about government.

[roadcat]

We can all choose our favorite examples of America's increasing difficulty in agreeing about evidence:

The disdain for journalists started way before the Trump era. Back during the Obama era, journalists were stating such facts as the glamor and beauty of the wookie-like Michelle Obama. Facts? The wookie being glamorous told me that the journalists made up their own reality.

[a fool in paradise]

The Left has more than a half century of cynicism of our goverment not because of perceived wrongs but because it is not Socialist/Communist. They are downright hostile to the established form of government in this country and our constitution and the rights it identifies.