Rekindling a Longing for the Warmth of Truth

 My first experience was in the mid-1980’s when every year or so a non-descript letter would arrive at my office warning me, as a pastor, and enlisting my support against efforts by atheist agitators to pass legislation in Congress banning religious broadcasts from the airwaves.  The Federal Communications Commission was mentioned; a particular bill number was referenced and I was urged to contact my congressman (they were all men in those days) to encourage his opposition.  It seemed shocking that such a move could be gaining traction in the hallowed halls of government, and wanted to learn more.  The internet was still years away, so investigation required more rudimentary tools than Google. I picked up the phone, called Directory Assistance for the number of the Federal Communications Commission, and proceeded.  A kind official took my call, and heard my questions.  There was no such regulatory change being considered, he told me.  There had been no such House Bill introduced.  That legislative file number did not exist.  It was all a hoax.  He thanked me for doing anything I could to counter this annoying conspiracy theory (mine was clearly was not the first call he had fielded), sent me documentary, supportive evidence by mail, and I filed the information away after throwing away the provoking letter.  

Until the next one came along, fanning the very same flames.  And the one after that.

 

And then there was the revolving suspicion about the Proctor and Gamble logo (satanic) and later the Starbucks logo (demonic).

 

Falsehoods, all of them.  Conspiracy theories stirred up and fanned by the nervous, the fearful, the intrinsically suspicious and the religiously paranoid.  But those were the good old days, when such fictions were promulgated only every few years.  Now they are manufactured multiple times daily.

 

In recent days, just to note one example, a story has been circulating on Facebook – an angering story; the kind that makes you mutter about how mad and miserable the world has become – a story usually introduced with the attribution, “shared by a friend”.  The story reports that the misery in Texas caused by the recent extreme weather and resulting power failures was at least exacerbated by the refusal of the current administration in Washington to allow state authorities to ramp up the state’s generating capacities. The result, according to the story, was the human tragedy that ensued – misery that could have at least been reduced had the federal authorities been less politically punitive and more humanitarian, more lenient, flexible and responsive. 

 

It is a horrifying story – precisely detailing and colorfully illustrating the kind of political maneuverings that have infuriated the electorate. 

 

The only trouble is, the “news” story was false.  In fact, it is worse than false.  It gets the story slanderously backward. Yes, Texas authorities requested a variance from federal regulators in light of forecasted weather conditions (variances in the level of polluting emissions permitted, not power generation per se), and the request was…granted.  Matter-of-factly.  There were no arguments, no back and forth, no wrangling or hand-wringing or horse trading.  There was the simple agreement that in light of the approaching danger and anticipated emergency demand, the variance should be approved.  Power generation ramped up in Texas, until malfunctions caused by the bitter temperatures intervened.  There was no conspiracy.  There was simply weather too cold for the equipment as it had been configured. There is almost certainly blame to be assigned for the suffering thousands experienced, and past decisions to be reviewed and reassessed, but it serves no one to point fingers wherever it feels good. And in this case, it simply isn’t Washington, no matter how satisfying that might be.

 

How do I know this?  Troubled by the allegation, I looked into it.  I researched it.  It isn’t hard to do these days.  The story was easy to track down; easy to bump into the miscellaneous fact checker websites who’s business it is to pursue their own truth seeking.  With serious and honest pursuit of accuracy, they test, they footnote and document; they question and verify.  They both confirm and debunk.  It turns out that the original story was concocted by an ideological organ with a political ax to grind – one that Facebook has flagged as inaccurate and deceptive, which is why the story is passed along now without attribution. “Friend” to “friend.”  Falsehood to falsehood.

 

I cite this example not to vilify those who perpetuate the falsehood.  I bring it up as an example of the ongoing fomenting that simply needs to, well, run out of gas.  There ought to be room to disagree on policy issues - we will, indeed, need to argue; but let's argue intelligently and well.  Let us do each other the favor of starting with bonafide information. If we are going to debate, let’s at least debate over what is, rather than what we might enjoy thinking might be.  It might be too much to hope that we “expect the best,” of each other, but that doesn’t mean we can afford to assume the worst.  We don't have to be this morally flaccid, this intellectually facile, this relationally puerile.

 

It simply isn’t that hard to verify information. We should have learned how to do that in junior high. And learned that we ought to do so while younger than that.  Let’s stop making fools of ourselves and do our homework. The world can’t afford a nation of loose cannons, constantly firing.  In a circle.  

 

There is enough mayhem blighting this earth – more than enough global accidents to slow down and gawk over as we pass by.  Surely what the world needs from us is leadership, not simply one more source of bloody and morbid entertainment.