Grains of Salt 0

It would be easy to denounce this as a “blame the victim” article, but it’s really more than that.

. . . who is to blame in the story of the U.S. Agriculture Department employee who got fired for being a racist for a few hours and then became an apology sponge when everyone everywhere realized how wrong they had been?

I think it’s us.

(snip)

Nope. It’s us.

The thought that people get the government they deserve also applies to media: People get the media they deserve. We seem to be fleeing substance at every opportunity, perhaps because substance is painful and hard to read and understand.

In its place, we embrace whatever is put in front of us and treat it as real and bathe in it for a while until another reality presents itself. Remember health care? Death panels were a big part of that debate until they weren’t. Then there is our compelling Kenyan president. Tea party people still believe that one.

Part of what makes a cliche a cliche is that it states a truth so well that repackaging that truth is difficult. Two cliches:

• Don’t believe everything you hear (though a chestnut too many ignore). These days, it’s a good idea also not to believe everything you see, even if you see it in person (research shows that eyewitness testimony is quite unreliable).
• Consider the source, especially when the source has a record of unreliability and an ax to grind. Even reliable persons of good will can make mistakes. To an ax grinder, everything is a new sharpening wheel.

I make no claim that my choice of topics here is fair and balanced. This is a hobby; I’m a loudmouth with a website. I don’t claim to be a journalist.

This blog is opinionated; I have my own axes that I sometimes grind.

I do try

• to pick axes that deserve grinding,
• to get facts straight (and correct errors when I learn of them), and
• to make clear where facts stop and opinion begins.

One thing I’ve learned in 50 years of following news is that, if it looks like it doesn’t make sense, it probably doesn’t.