In recent months I have mostly tried to stay out of extended conversations (e.g. arguments) about politics on social media. I do make comments here and there, and I share things sometimes, but I honestly try not to allow my political leanings to become my entire online identity. In fact, if you were to scroll through my Facebook feed on any given day, it consists mainly of posts about cats that are either lost or up for adoption.
Anyone who knows me knows where I am on the political spectrum. They also know that I will back anything serious up with facts and data. Have I posted things in the past that I didn’t thoroughly fact check? Yes, I have. Am I willing to admit when I am wrong and retract anything that can’t be proven? Absolutely. Integrity is important.
I am genuinely curious why people believe the things that they just believe at face value, especially when the things that they believe are outrageously absurd, and could be easily be disproved by just a few minutes of objectively seeking out the truth. Why is it so painful for people to change course? What do they think the consequences of admitting that they were wrong actually are? Eternal damnation?
My mistake, and a time-waster that I fall into more times than I care to admit, is that I sometimes feel that if I can just introduce data and/or actual facts, I can change people’s minds, or at the very least make them curious or healthily skeptical about the “information” they’re ingesting. More times than not this is a fool’s errand though, and I end up donning the jester’s hat.