Job 21:34 – How then will you comfort me with empty
nothings? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.
It was an eight word Facebook post carefully written to
express a positive opinion without maligning those who held to a different
opinion. I had barely hit the post
button before my newsfeed begun to fill up with the rants from one of my more
progressive friends. She wanted to point out how narrow minded and bigoted I
was for posting such a mean spirited statement. After letting her rant for a
while, I asked her to go back and read my post and then read her own posts and
tell me again who was narrow minded and bigoted. Seconds later, she defriended
me.
There is a narrative told in our national news media that
liberals are open minded, tolerant, well-educated and well-informed on the
issues, whereas conservatives are just a bunch of narrow minded country
hillbillies who barely made it out of high school. Though this narrative seems
to be accepted by many people as fact, new research reveals that this
stereotype is far from accurate. Time magazine reported in a spring 2016
article about Facebook and Politics that 51% of liberals got news on Facebook
compared to just 34% of conservatives and 28% of moderates. Though Facebook is
a great place for interacting with friends, it is not a reputable news source.
If it is a person’s primary source for news, then they are not a well-informed
person. This is even more important now that we know that Facebook manipulates
their trending topics to drive a narrative of their choosing.
Clearly liberals are not better informed on the issues than
conservatives and moderates. What about being more open-minded and tolerant?
That same Time article reported that 44% of consistent liberals have hidden,
blocked, defriended or unfollowed someone over a political post they disagreed
with. Whereas only 31% of consistent conservatives have done that. Though both
sides could learn to be more opened minded toward the other, clearly liberals
are less open minded and would rather lose a friendship than hear a viewpoint
that they disagree with. Another straw man collapses as we realize that it is
the conservatives who are more willing to engage in discussion and dialogue
with those who have differing opinions.
Those of us who are conservatives may often feel like we are
on the defensive, but there is no need to take that attitude. Regardless of the
media spin, the facts are on our side. Let’s keep getting our news from a wide
variety of sources. Let’s keep listening and engaging with those who disagree
with us. Let’s watch as truth triumphs over falsehood.
Lord, help us share Your Truth with all of those we come in
contact with. Amen.
Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter,
denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20
years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather.
He is a cancer survivor and believes that God
works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively
and you can find all of his books at:
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