[I'm giving my children every opportunity to think for themselves by asking tough questions to get them thinking, along with giving them the tools to know how to do so.]
There's so many times these days that I think, "wtf??!!?" that I've become immune to a lot. Probably too much, honestly. I haven't had a gut wrenching feeling while watching the news since January 6, when the 'breaking news' flashing across the screen made me physically ill. I rarely scroll through Facebookland anymore. I'll post sure, but I only scrolled through my feed for the sole purpose of seeing the back-to-school posts this week. In addition to those posts, I also had to scroll through some things that make me angry because we have managed to raise an entire country to who can't or don't think for themselves apparently.
At the chance of sounding old, I remember learning about journalism as though it was a sacred job. Journalists took their jobs of reporting accurate information rather than share their own feelings on subjects seriously. The news was given, read to us, and that was that. Also taught to me were the tools I needed to think for myself. I was taught to read the news and then form my own opinions about subjects. I guess that's hard to do now.
Now, people get their "news" through Facebook memes, inaccurate blogs, and news pieces dripping with opinions. Sometimes it's a single word that can turn an entire news piece into an opinion. What I'm writing currently is my opinion. An opinion formed by observation. This shift in how people think, or don't, is not all on the changing landscape of sensational journalism. This is on us, as American citizens. I've never once watched the news and didn't stop to think about it before forming an opinion. If something catches my attention and I want to know more about a subject, I do my research on it. I read a variety of news reports on it, but I pay close attention to WHERE I get my news from.
I do not get my news from an overly conservative or liberal news source. I look for words that make something an opinion rather than actual, factual news. I'm disgusted by the amount of people who cannot seem to think for themselves. They're either going to let an orange narcissist infiltrate their minds or let unreputable news sources sway them. They're the people who blame others when something goes wrong because they've lost, or maybe they never had, the ability to think for themselves. We've all heard the saying, "you can't teach common sense," but can we at least give them the tools to think for themselves? Those of us who live in the real now would very much appreciate if we were able to stop feeling as though we're living in the twilight zone.