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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Avoiding the echo chamber



It's real easy to only get your news from those who think like you. That's a huge mistake that will cause you to be ill prepared when reality proves to be very different than your prejudices.

Many liberals were blindsided when Trump won. They never saw it coming. Reporters interviewed people who thought like them. Very few liberal media people ever made it to the dying mill towns and rural areas that went so heavily for Trump. Liberals were shocked when Trump was able to squeak out a victory in the Electoral College.

Conservative media is currently making a similar mistake to the one the liberals made. They are in an echo chamber of their own. There's a narrative of Trump being unfairly attacked and any evidence against him is fake news.

The reality is that Trump is in trouble. His problems are serious. There may actually be something to the whole Russia thing after all. Time will tell if it is serious or not. Trump's behavior does not instill confidence. Why does he continue to fear his tax records becoming public? Every other modern presidential candidate made theirs public. His questioning of lawyers on if he can pardon himself and family members is unsettling. Why would an innocent man need a pardon?

If it comes out that Trump is or has been involved in criminal activities, a lot of conservatives are going to be caught off guard. That's an entirely possible outcome. On the other hand, liberals believe in their hearts that something criminal is going on. However, it could just be that Trump is hiding things that are personally embarrassing, but not criminal. The man is certainly vain enough to fight hard to prevent something like that from coming out. Personally, I'm going to wait, with as much patience as possible, for the Mueller report to come out.

Sifting through the news can be tough. Listening to people you don't agree with takes patience, an open mind, and plenty of work. It's not fun at all. It's much more comfortable to surround yourself with only those who think like you do. Unfortunately, that's a good way to get surprised by events. You don't have to believe in the bus to get run over by it.

It helps if you separate facts from commentary. I'm getting to the point now where I will believe only the things that can plainly be seen. If you ask me what color a house is, I'm going to say something like, well, it looks to be a yellow house -on the two sides that I can see. I won't assume the whole house is yellow.

-Sixbears

15 comments:

  1. I think the Russia thing is 100% BS, but I won't be caught off guard regardless. The Bible tells us that evil will triumph for a while until God finally lowers the boom. When that happens, Trump and the democrats will ALL be irrelevant.

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    1. There's a lot of smoke for their not to be any fire. Possible, but if I had to bet. . .

      I am glad your faith sustains you in these troubled times.

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  2. Even if they had interviewed people in rural areas that I have lived in, they wouldn't have got a straight answer or the factories I've worked in. Too many people have been stung or have seen people around them stung, to say what they really think. Not being PC can cost you your job.

    As for Trump, Well I'm seeing a lot of shit being slung trying to find something that will stick. No doubt he is 'shady' but what politician or really wealthy person isn't? You have to sell your soul/integrity to get to where those people are at. That's why I passed on the opportunity to move up the food chain.

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    1. Makes sense that people would not talk to the press or polls. I lie to them all the time.

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  3. Believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see.

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  4. Heh. More 'Trump/Russia.'

    But not a sentence on Hitlery's sign off of 20% of our uranium assets to Russia while SecState.

    And Bill's 500k speaking fee in Russia.

    Or Hussaino's 'I'll be more flexible after the election' open mic catch to Medved.

    Echo indeed.

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    1. Yep, More Trump/Russia because there is more Trump/Russia.

      I've been unhappy with the actions of all previous administrations one time or another, but Trump is now the one in the hot seat.

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  5. if the 'liberals'[not at all liberal, more like orwellian tyrannical demons] want to find dirt, let them take the log from their own eye instead of searching high and low for a mote in someone else's eye.
    president Trump is far from ideal, but the other 'choice' stank to high heaven of 'dead skunk in the middle of the road'.
    some argue that we should forgo voting since it is all crooked. we just vote for whom will be least harmful.
    i admit that i voted for obama, in my ignorance, but other choices were terrible, too.
    i pray for the nation, hoping for God's mercy.
    if religion is the opium of the people then i am an addict.

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  6. should say, 'we vote for the one whom we hope will be least harmful'.
    internet connection is always iffy here.
    had to correct this correction!

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    1. I agree that the choices were not good ones.

      I just want my readers to keep their eyes open to possible events that might affect their lives. Having just a conservative or liberal news source can hide threats.

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  7. I like Trump and believe he is what this country needs. To the liberals, he is the worlds worst nightmare, to conservatives like me, he is the answer to our prayers. What is so great about this country is that we can agree to disagree.

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    Replies
    1. I am always happy when people can discuss matters in a civilized fashion.

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  8. As always Bear , we think much alike.
    Every AM I Listen and watch Morning Joe, then when they sign off I listen to Glen Beck and afterward Rush Limbo....
    One cannot listen only to a Parrot and learn anything new.
    Any other spare moments and evening , I spend reading various Blogs and Books.
    Got zero time to waste watching sitcoms or tripe like he Walking Dead LOL

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    1. If I wanted to see The Walking Dead I'd visit a FL retirement village. LOL.

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