Believe it or not

During the long history of human existence, we have relied on belief. It was the only system that existed for most people. There was no repository of reliable information. Belief is embedded in our heritage. Belief gives us psychological comfort. Belief can be based in fact or based on rumor or imagination or deliberate falsification. Beliefs can be harmless, but they can also be detrimental.

Our reliance on belief was moderated in the Western world by the development of disciplined fact finding in eras that historians call the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment. Those two developments invoked a process for determining truth. One result is the physical sciences that give us our modern way of life: airplanes that fly safely, electricity that is reliable, medical research that impedes disease, and 2,600 satellites circling the planet providing scientific information that helps us understand the orb we call home. Scientists experiment, test, and measure in an effort to establish reliable data. Scientists publish their findings, and their data is reviewed and often challenged by other scientists, a procedure that promotes accuracy.

The arena of endeavors that we call social sciences also began to research and document information. Government and private organizations acquired and stored reliable information. The better news media organizations required verification of the “news” information they published and separated the news from editorial opinion.

Social media technology accelerates the spread of unverified information. Edgar Welch believed social media rumors that a pizza shop in Washington, DC, was the site of a pedophilia base of operation. He went to the restaurant and fired a weapon inside the shop to break the lock on an interior door. His belief in the online rumor caused him to take inappropriate action. Violation of public laws earned him a four-year prison sentence.

An anonymous social media source claims that a conspiracy exists within the federal 

government. The source, QAnon, has a following of believers who accept the message that comes from the unknown source. The source could be an agent of a hostile foreign country intending to do damage to the United States. Or the source could simply be laughing at how easy it is to make gullible people believe a bizarre story without offering proof or any evidence. 

We place great value on freedom of speech. It is a foundation for democracy. Dictatorial governments routinely impose restrictions on freedom of speech. Saudi Arabia has held Loujain al-Hathoul in prison since May 2018 because she advocated for women’s rights, including the right to drive an automobile. While we champion freedom of speech, we bear individual responsibility for what we believe. Our new year will be a lot happier if we obtain our information from reliable agencies and verify information that is offered without evidence.

Jack Stevenson is retired. He served two years in Vietnam as an infantry officer, retired from military service, and worked three years as a U.S. Civil Service employee. He also worked in Egypt as an employee of the former Radio Corporation of America (RCA). Currently, he reads history, follows issues important to Americans, and writes commentary for community newspapers.