We usually associate bravery and courage with specific acts of physical prowess involving danger and risk. The person involved could be injured or killed. The consequences of failure are definitive and real. Success is victory. Little lies in the space between.
But there’s another less acknowledged kind of courage. It’s the courage to examine certain beliefs we hold, find them lacking or incorrect, and embrace new beliefs.
That’s exactly the kind of courage on display in this recent ARTICLE in The Guardian.
I encourage you to take the time to read it.
While most of us never go as far down the ‘rabbit hole’ of online conspiracy theories as the young man profiled in this piece, it is important for us to constantly monitor how much the information we absorb online shapes our perspective…and our resulting decisions and actions.
That the quality of our information and news impacts our personal quality of life is obvious. But in the bigger picture, we must remember that to enjoy ‘independence’ as a nation, we must exercise ‘independence’ in our personal thinking.
We must also recognize that we in the US are governed by ‘representatives’, elected officials who are, for better or worse, ‘representative’ of us, the electorate. A sobering and perhaps disconcerting thought when we see the behavior of politicians recently.
So be vigilant. Be suspicious of what you read and hear. Watch for hidden agendas. And when you find reliable sources for news and information, support them and, to a certain extent, trust them. But keep your eyes wide open.
Everyone’s human.
- BGT
I stand with Palestine, now and forever
What made him vulnerable? Partly, he blames his education. “I wasn’t taught how to assess information or how to do research,” he says. “I don’t think I lacked intelligence but I was very naive about politics and how the world actually works.”
It’s not just him – everyone is vulnerable to misinformation to varying degrees hundreds of times daily. Education, access to high quality information and critical thinking can reduce our vulnerability to manipulation.
Great article. For years I’ve had a morbid curiosity with conspiracy theories/theorists, because it is cultish beliefs like those that enable otherwise good people to do horrific things. Hopefully Brent (the subject of the article) can have a positive impact on his former comrades and get them to, understand and practice genuine skepticism.
It takes a brave man to admit his mistakes, and a good one to try and undo the damage he’s caused. The man has my respect.
Good article! I think it’s interesting that Alex Jones was the catalyst for this guy leaving that community. He’s lucky he didn’t get sucked further into the QAnon community after all of that. I sent this to my conspiracy-theories-and-cults group chat for discussion.
Critical thinking anyone?
Kind Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich