Cult of ignorance spreading in Canada
Some years ago, Isaac Asimov said, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
This cult of ignorance is spreading, and is well established in Canada.
Our society needs people with specialized training, certification, and relevant experience. Heart surgeons, pilots, electricians, and a host of other people have specialized training, credentials, and experience that surpass anything we can learn on Facebook University.
If I need the services of a person with specialized knowledge, I will usually find them at well-established institutions that have some form of government regulation and recognition. They know much more than I do, and any attempt on my part to operate in their sphere can have disastrous results.
When accessing information, just as with my doctor, pilot and electrician, I rely on trained, experienced people associated with reputable institutions: journalists.
Having a cell phone, a camera, a Facebook account, or a website does not turn one into a journalist, or a credible source of information.
Pulitzer Prize-winning media can generally be relied on for quality coverage. Most highly regarded media sources can be relied on for calm reporting on world events. They tend to be more politically neutral. If one encounters an article somewhere which has a powerful emotional effect, one needs to suspect that they are being manipulated.
An author’s credentials, biases, sources, the age of their material, and how the material was reviewed and edited all matter. The source, amount and quality of evidence provided matter. Discerning between news articles and opinion articles matters.
It helps to be able to spot errors in reasoning. As I study different media (especially social media), I find many different missteps. They include personal attacks, switching topics, black-and-white thinking, slippery slope thinking, hasty generalizations, and others. Many different websites offer guidance in spotting logical fallacies.
In the face of increasing passion and decreasing reason in public discourse, the Latin phrase, “Caveat emptor” — let the buyer beware — is more and more critical. Learning how to exercise due diligence in one’s consumption of media requires clear thinking, time, and a little effort.
It is well worth it. Vaccine resistors and “my rights” defenders, please take note.