Photo by Michal Matlon on Unsplash
There was a time that I believed that no rebuke, criticism, nor counter-attack was necessary for people who made irrational, idiotic, hateful, or illogical statements including those relying upon fiction because they would expose their irrationality to rational minds who would see through their statements.
I still practice a strategy based upon that belief to some extent.
But something has changed.
There has been a mass abandonment of logic, rationality, discernment, fact-checking, and truth-seeking. People are, more and more, believing whatever fits their paradigm. There are folks who simply refuse to accept facts and will not be dissuaded from arguments that have no basis in reality.
If an argument is discredited, the repair work takes less than 24 hours.
If a spokesperson for that argument is discredited, it simply does not matter to many.
Things that once discredited us no longer do so:
- Vulgarity
- Hatefulness
- Vindictiveness
- Playing fast and loose with truth
- Conflicts of interest
These are all subject to spin and interpretation. What matters is supporting our own narrative and ideology.
So, do I change my approach?
I did not today. To an outlandish accusation that three prominent American women were possessed by Satan, I thought, "This poster is so transparent, she is discrediting herself," so I responded with something like, "How interesting."
The truth just that what the truth is would not have mattered to her anyway.
On the other hand, perhaps it is time more of us went on the record stating the obvious that we used to assume was obvious to anyone with good sense.
