Navigating the Misinformation Super Highway

Misinformation is a Devious Tool

Misinformation, diversion, and subterfuge run rampant these days, sped on their way by almost instantaneous dissemination via the internet. Politicians are contradicting doctors and scientists, stories are distorted like a virtual game of telephone, and everyone seems to be looking for someone to blame to take the focus off themselves, except in the very nicest of ways. I’ve had to disconnect, block, and disengage out of self-preservation. I honestly don’t know who or what to believe, and there’s too much…dare I say it? Bullshit out there for me to fact check it all, and I have no idea where to even begin any more.

What’s important? What’s not? What’s smoke and mirrors? Who can I trust? Anyone? No one? In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, all I can say is “Oh, good grief!” It gives me a headache just thinking about it, and frankly, none of it is worth my personal pain.

Social media exacerbates the problem as everyone seems to feel the need to share articles and videos supporting their own skewed viewpoint. In an election year, I’ve decided the goal of everyone currently in office and wishing to remain there is to confuse everyone to the point of apathy so they’ll choose the status quo because it’s the enemy they think they know at this point. In my opinion, this game of cowboys and Indians has no good guys at all so why not let all the bad guys duke it out until no one is left standing, and the rest of us can get on with our lives in peace and relative calm?

OK, so that’s a little extreme, and ludicrous inasmuch as the bad guys never fight their own battles, but stir up enough innocents willing to fall on the battlefield for them. Even in films, bad guys couldn’t care less about collateral damage as long as they keep their own fingers clean, fortunes intact, and bodies safe from harm.

Stay Calm and Step Away From the Media

There was a point when I’d have allowed myself to get riled up; get angry at the inequity of it all, but I know now it only makes me crazy, affects myself, and in the end, solves nothing. You might say refusing to get angry means I don’t care, but in truth, it means I care—perhaps too much, or maybe enough to keep my head clear so I can, when the opportunity comes (and it will come) be part of the solution instead of exacerbating or perpetuating the problem.

Do I know what part I’ll play, or how the solution will ultimately unfold? Not a clue. What I do know is there will still be unhappy people who feel they’re not getting everything they think they so richly deserve. To them I say:

You don’t DESERVE anything. You have to participate in order to earn your way. Even then, you aren’t going to be happy with every decision, because we all want different things. Set your priorities and learn how to compromise. More, learn how to be happy for the success of others in your community for a change instead of whining about what you don’t have.

Does it sound like I’m sick of people in general? Perhaps a little bit. But I also see many who have put their own wants and needs aside to try to build a better future for their kids and grandkids. Unfortunately, the media feeds on drama. People feed on drama. I suppose it takes them out of their own miserable lives to see others suffering. If I learned nothing from living with alcoholics most of my life, it was that making others miserable is only a temporary fix, and never really makes you feel better. Instead of continually feeding the beast, you have to fix your own problems instead of trying to run away from them, make others more miserable than you, or pretend they don’t exist.

Keep Fighting Over Stupid Stuff and Everyone Loses

What I’m truly sick of is those who are evil enough to use misinformation to fuel the pain and misery of the masses, and halt much needed changes to satisfy personal agendas. Worst of all, to stir up hate where it never needed to be stirred. There was a time when people in many communities peacefully coexisted. Today, those same communities are filled with angry, fighting people who, quite frankly are clueless as to what they’re fighting over, or how the battles started in the first place.

Once again I’m reminded of the song, “Rioting in Africa” aka “Merry Minuet” performed by the Kingston Trio, and  later by the Smothers Brothers. One line in particular sticks in my head:

…and I don’t like anybody very much!

In truth, there’s a certain amount of satisfaction to shutting my doors and windows, closing Social Media, silencing the television, and losing myself in a good book, or in writing one of my own to if not halt, at least slow the flow of misinformation in my own world. The only winners in this crazy game of jungle ball are the comedians, at least in my opinion. They never lack for new material, but then, neither do I.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Of course, hiding away isn’t the solution either. But I’m not exactly keeping my own counsel or hiding my feelings and opinions in my blog posts, Social Media posts and comments, or conversations with friends. I do try to encourage discussion, and discourage arguments, but “You Can’t Always Get what You Want”, can you? As the Rolling Stones so aptly pointed out decades ago. If you want to get what you need, you have to put forth the effort. What too many aren’t seeing right now is sometimes getting what you need means shifting your focus to helping others first.

I realize it’s counter-intuitive, but as I see it, as long as others are suffering, focusing only on what’s important to you is not only a hollow victory, but an unsustainable one. Massive suffering (or perceived suffering) creates what we have right now; millions of people screaming fighting, hating, and disagreeing over what is good for all of us. No one sees the answer to that is nothing. Everyone is blinded by their own dissatisfaction, unwilling to share resources and let everyone share in the bounty we could, if we work together, create. Too many would rather hoard resources, or even rip them out of the hands of those they deem inferior or unworthy than participate in something that makes the whole stronger and more resilient. Few are willing to sacrifice a little to make the whole structure stronger.

Though the phrase “united we stand, divided we fall” has been repeated by many people, including our founding fathers, often since it was penned by Aesop in “The Four Oxen and the Lion”, and later put to music by John Dickinson in 1768 in his “Liberty Song”, humans as a whole never seem to learn. How many nations and empires have fallen to conquerors over the centuries for ignoring this axiom which is even used, though worded differently in the New Testament.

History Reminds Us

The Roman Empire, Nazi Germany, the British Empire, just to name a few have all failed to recognize the power in unity, and in supporting a common cause which led to the health and well-being of all, to their detriment, and often their demise. A society based on strengthening the elite at the expense of everyone else stands on a shaky foundation at best, and there will always be someone else who’s stronger and greedier ready to pick them off at their weakest moment.

You see it in business all the time. Bank of America bought Countrywide for pennies on the dollar after the mortgage fiasco in 2008. Just as corporations come and go, so do countries. Make no mistake. The broken and scattered will be picked up, consumed, and absorbed by someone who hasn’t yet reached the point of too much greed, and not enough cooperation.

Sadly, this time, the process of confusing through misinformation will be aided by a lot of manufactured dissatisfaction strewn by a conscienceless media that’s been given free reign and no controls over what’s disseminated. Only the efforts each person makes to minimize the noise, and fact check what  is allowed through will minimize the damage that’s done before the dust clears and the world is irrevocably changed.

The way things are looking right now, I don’t see it changing for the better, but I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised. Inasmuch as everyone is different in one way or another, doesn’t it make more sense to love and appreciate those differences instead of finding an excuse to hate for them? I admit, I’m baffled, and can offer no viable solution right now.

Finding Reasons to Be Grateful

My gratitudes today are:

1. I’m grateful for off switches.
2. I’m grateful for writers who provide fantasy worlds where I can escape the endless noise for a little while.
3. I’m grateful for my solitary lifestyle. I can be alone as much or as little as I need to.
4. I’m grateful for my cats who couldn’t care less about what others are spewing forth. They set an example for all of us. Sleep, eat, poop, cuddle with your human and siblings, repeat.
5. I’m grateful for abundance; intelligent, educated friends, fact check sources, inspiration, hope, positivity, balance, peace, harmony, health, opportunities, joy, grace, philanthropy, and prosperity.

Love and Light

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income.

If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward

Where Are You Getting Your News?

Holding On To Outmoded Methods of Discernment

Emotions are a large part of the human psyche, but they were never meant to replace our brains. They’re a touchstone for some, internal guidance for others, but for many of us, something which makes us repeat old mistakes over and over because we’ve been programmed to avoid things we’ve long since outgrown needing to avoid. Old wounds left scars, but they didn’t take us back over what happened to arrive at a better solution. They simply put a scar in place which triggers avoidance behavior or worse any time we experience anything remotely similar to the original pain-filled experience.

It seems lately this is what people are using to pick sides in a volatile and self-serving political climate. Intentionally emotionally charged topics are at the forefront every single day, obscuring what really matters; we are all in this together, and by working together, we can make things better for all.

When News is Nothing More Than Spewing Propaganda to Incite the Masses

Which brings me to today’s topic, news sources. Maybe I’m not the best person to wax poetic on this topic as I eschewed all news agencies long ago. But then again, maybe I am. It’s no secret each one has its own political slant. People are going to listen to the ones which share their viewpoint more often than not. The problem is by doing so, everything we hear is slanted towards our beliefs, and gives us no chance to understand what drives the other side of the argument.

One night while waiting to get into our local dance hall, someone asked me whether I was still buying NIke products. Of course, a “discussion” about the right to take a knee during the National Anthem arose. I put the word in quotes because it was, except for one voice of reason (which wasn’t mine), more of a series of emotional outbursts than a discussion. It saddened me to see so many of my friends letting their emotions make their decisions, and realizing I’m not doing my part to improve the situation. Not that I’m immune, but those in power are stirring those emotions daily, and as long as we act and don’t think things through or do our own research, they have us by the proverbial short hairs.

We’re so busy in-fighting about stupid, emotionally triggered subjects that we’re letting the thieves clean out the banks, the stores, and every freedom we hold dear. It’s got to stop! We need to push our emotions back where they belong and re-engage our brains.

Opening Our Hearts and Minds

For example, when did people manage to separate the act of kneeling in church from kneeling during the National Anthem, seeing one as an act of respect and the other as tantamount to treason?

Jeremy Adam Smith  published a piece in Scientific American called “The Psychology of Taking a Knee”. In my opinion it is one of the best and most well thought out articles about both the reason for Colin Kaepernick’s misunderstood and misrepresented (for their own personal benefit) act of protest over police violence against blacks in particular. I urge you to not only read it in its entirety, but do so with an open mind and an accepting heart. It’s time we all made more than a token effort to understand beliefs which aren’t our own.

If you ask me, we’ve become a nation of lemmings, believing what we’re told by people we think we should continue to trust no matter how many reasons they give us for running the other way. It’s time to push past the walls of our own cognitive dissonance and realize a good part of our beliefs are based on either faulty or non-existent reasoning. Most of the time, instead of changing old beliefs with new facts, we take the easy road, and fall back on old beliefs, ignoring the reality that’s literally smacking us in the face.

Seeing the Light in the Media’s Darkness

Personally, I admire Nike for hiring Mr. Kaepernick to represent them despite the potentially negative impact on their profits. It means a lot for a person or company with a fair amount of power (or in this case, financial assets) to back an unpopular viewpoint. People may be doing stupid things like burning shoes in protest of Nike’s decision. Yet they’re talking about it, and paying attention. It’s opening up conversations and inciting people like me to look past the hype and the political machinations to what’s behind a promising athlete essentially killing his career to stand up for what he believes is right.

There will always be people whose minds are closed and who believe they have all the right answers. We can’t help them, nor catch them when they go down in flames. But I believe there are enough of us who are at least ready to hear other points of view, but need to learn to take our own emotional responses out of the mix first.

Being One of the Baby Steps to Change

Change doesn’t happen in giant leaps most of the time. Instead, it’s tiny cracks in the impenetrable walls we build around ourselves. It’s opening our hearts just a little to something we’ve misunderstood, and trying to see something from another perspective. We can start by re-evaluating who and what we’re listening to and asking where and why they see things as they do. We can actively look for publications and sources which don’t share our perspective, looking for different interpretations of facts.

Instead of shutting down when we see something that confuses and confounds, we can open to the possibilities. Unless we’re stuck in a dark, dank rut of a comfort zone, we do so with other aspects of our lives. So why not use the skills we’ve learned to open our minds to things which we can’t immediately see as impacting us personally? In reality, we are all connected, so what impacts one, truly does impact us all. Think about that for a few moments.

Breaking Our Own Paradigms

I can only speak for myself in this, but know in the last couple of years I’ve altered my perceptions and pre-conceived notions on a wide variety of subjects. If a self-confirmed hermit like me can come out of her shell, interact more freely with people, and even do live videos, why is it such a stretch for others to make small changes, create tiny openings in beliefs that may seem hard-wired, yet can be changed with a little concerted effort?

Start small. Listen to an opposing viewpoint without immediately going on the defensive. Change news stations (if unlike me you’re still listening). Talk to friends who disagree with you and agree to hear each other out without showing disdain, raising your voice, or emotional outbursts. Or at least read the article I linked.

When you’re ready, branch out. Take one of your more emotional beliefs and the events or people linked to it. Search for articles and stories which take an opposing view and read them without criticism. Learn to accept that there is truth in every side of a story. The trick is to weed out the emotional triggers and biases so you can see the bald, unadulterated truth buried inside the rhetoric.

We’re sentient beings born with the ability to reason and discern. It’s time we rose above the apes and into that birthright again.

Gratitude for All We Have, and All the Possibilities

My gratitudes today are:

1. I am grateful for situations and circumstances that remind me to open my mind and stop being an ass.
2. I am grateful for the lessons I learn both from watching others, and watching myself behaving badly.
3. I am grateful for a circle of friends with varying beliefs, even if some of it frustrates me and even makes me want to cry.
4. I am grateful for my talent for research, and the desire to dig deep into things others are accepting on faith these days. Faith is overrated all too often, I’ve found.
5. I’m grateful for abundance; love, client attraction, friends, joy, kitty love, happiness, morality and ethics (even if buried deep), peace, harmony, philanthropy, health, and prosperity.

Love and Light

 

About the Author

Sheri Conaway is a writer, blogger, ghostwriter, and advocate for cats. Sheri believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author or in her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.