James Carville said it well; don’t try to get informed by watching platforms that validate your points of view. Yes, let’s admit it. If you’re a liberal, MSNBC is fun to watch. Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow really make you feel good about yourself. And if you’re a conservative, FOX and Friends will probably make your day. But, face it; you’re not looking for information. You’re looking for validation, which is quite different. Think of FOX News and MSNBC as cheesecake—you really want it. But if it’s part of your daily diet, you’ll probably end up gaining some pounds. And while these networks won’t make you fatter, they might just make you stupid, or straight out blind. If you’re looking for validation, you learn little, if anything at all. So where should we look for information that actually satiates that thirst?
The problem isn’t that there’s not enough information out there. I feel that if we went back to early twentieth century traditions of reading the newspaper every morning or listening to five o’clock radio broadcasts, people would be much better informed. So I’ve got bad news, and worse news.
The bad news is there’s too much to choose from. The worse news is you can’t trust anything out there—including what you’re reading right now. Now you ask, “Well, then how am I supposed to get informed?” I have the answer for that. Read as much as possible, and only then should you choose what to believe in.
Don’t fool yourself.
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