Circle of Trust

Q’s Word of the Day:

[Re-broadcast of 6.30.2020 message for emphasis]

We are living in a highly polarized society these days. One of the big reasons: at a time when we have more news sources than ever before, from curated news to first-person content, rather than becoming better informed and more broad-minded, we tend to choose the news sources which fit, validate, and reinforce our pre-existing mental frameworks. The result is that we end up in our own echo-chambers, increasingly convinced of our points of view, and increasingly disturbed by what others perceive and believe.

There some ways we can try to overcome this problem. First, consume a broad range of news sources. Doing so will provide more information in general. It will also help us understand what others are consuming, and what images they are reacting to. Second, identify and prioritize well-researched, carefully analyzed news. You cannot completely remove human bias (after all, journalists must report what they perceive, editors must choose which stories to prioritize, producers must identify which experts to invite, and so on), but you can select sources that present multiple perspectives well, dig deep into data, invite well-regarded experts, and try to avoid the influence of parties, platforms, personalities, and advertisers. Third, read the primary sources yourself. Instead of hearing what your favorite commentator has to say about a newly published report or the latest inflammatory video, look at the report or video yourself, preferably in its entirety.

We can do better that what we are seeing today. We are High Impact Males; let us impact our communities for unity, understanding, and insight.

Prayers:

For Mr. Miyagi, as he fights through his health battles. For Crabgrass and his family, as they walk through their loss and grief.

That the men of F3 would be blessed, and would be a blessing to others.