Annoying!

Like me, I'm sure you receive multiple email messages forwarded by friends and relatives. Many of these messages seem to be describing amazing events that just happen to confirm some position or belief you hold dear. We might respond, sometimes mentally, with a hearty "Yeah!" or "Right On!" when replying. Usually these missives are replete with a request to forward them if you agree or delete them if you don't. Often, a little research reveals that the message is false, or made-up, or some dubious mixture of truth and fiction.

I find these things annoying because they mask the real abuses they seem to confirm and when we fall for them, we appear to be mindless ideologs, suckers for any story consistent with our beliefs or  prejudices. Purported honest brokers such as Snopes or FactCheck also appear to be operating from their own agenda. So where lies the truth?

I like Ronald Reagan's approach to Russian disarmament. I believe he said something like "Trust but verify." We trust our well meaning friends but must attempt to verify these gems before passing them along. Usually, a simple Google search will get the information we need.

I believe such a simple process would filter, not eliminate, the truth from the not-truth and allow us to focus on the real issues. If we all did it, the made-up stuff would be greatly diminished.

Have a great day!