Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
I've long objected to those who bring popular conspiracy theories to blog discussions as factual truths. A theory is not a truth until verified, as Einstein knew but modern social media marauders do not.
Advocacy these days has taken the form of beliefs over evidence. Can you imagine a state in the US in the very modern year of 2024 banning dictionaries as tools of subversion? Or holding that a pregnant woman trying to save her life by ending a miscarriage would be deemed a criminal? It's on the slippery slope to the irrational view that a woman who is raped commits an offense that is solved by hanging her until dead.
These are real-world acts today. Beliefs over evidence. Over rational thought. Over facts. Over compassion. Over humanity.
Beliefs and conspiracy theories are tools of power mongers. Every authoritarian uses them to villainize others and give themselves a platform upon which to stand, and rise, in a world full of dirty social media information and unresolved angers.
We are all losers in this environment. You can't do good by doing bad and you can't construct truths out of lies. Other than in people's minds. And that is a sure path to misery.
I seldom try to argue issues with people these days. It's generally futile. Even highly intelligent people defend the irrational. I find a reliable resource document and provide that. They can read it or not read it. I'm not entering the swamp of mean debate and beliefs over truth.
I hope we discover a better way to engage one another. This blog shows that it is possible. The discussions are truly special, forming a place where contributors teach and truths are for the finding, not the burying. Y'all deserve a pat on the back. You are the exceptions today. The exceptional, actually.
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Cover photo, Bing, for the prompt "When beliefs overpower truth"
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