By David Hegg
I started writing my column in 2010 with one goal in mind. My goal was not to have you agree with my views. Rather, it was, and remains, to stimulate your mind to think, critique, tear my propositions and arguments apart in the laboratory of your mind, and come to your own conclusions. To that end, I have tried to speak clearly, honestly, and in a forthright manner so you will know my underlying ideology and be able to assess the level to which my writing is beneficial to you.
Why write to make you think? I have watched with fear and amazement how our commitment to think for ourselves has eroded. Remember when we used to applaud independent thinkers? Remember when we expected those in positions of power to have reasoned, evidence-based arguments? Most of all, remember when we didn’t take everything we were told at face value and refused to swallow it without vetting it through our educated ideological grid?
We are seeing the great intellectual migration from thinking for ourselves to letting others think, decide and declare for us. As a people, we have grown too willing to allow media and social platforms to do our thinking for us. We’ve become addicted to the convenience of being told what is true and necessary, and the result is terrifying. We’re losing our ability to critique, recognize and reject the babble of those who pontificate, obfuscate and lie to us. As if that isn’t bad enough, we have gravitated from thinking to griping as our sole means of conversation about the goings-on in our world. We don’t think anymore. We respond, whine and trade in disgust, but we rarely engage in the hard work of thinking logically and offering coherent, substantive commentary.
For example, take social media. Research shows a majority of Americans, especially those under 40, see social media as their primary source of local, national and world news, commentary, and conclusions. If it’s on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, any number of podcasts, Substack, or websites, it must be trustworthy, unless, of course, it isn’t. And the proof that these social platforms are questionable at best and dangerous at worst is the $17 billion settlement Meta just reached after being found guilty of engaging in illegitimate practices that fostered social media addiction among its younger readers.
In the aftermath of COVID-19, we experienced a short-lived awakening from our trusting slumber. It is no exaggeration to say what died in the pandemic was trust. We found out we couldn’t trust the statements of health officials, government authorities, or the news outlets they commanded. Rather than become a nation that demanded truth, committed to critiquing and verifying what we were being told, we shifted from major news outlets to social media and other more convenient, entertaining sources of information.
That’s the problem. We’ve become addicted to convenience. Start the morning with your iPad, phone, or other contraption and log on to the world. Read the headlines, and tell yourself you have all the information you need to engage in the office gripe sessions.
So, what’s the answer? You won’t like this, but the only way to get the truth needed to make good choices and decisions is to work at it. Believing you can mature through spoon-feeding is not only foolish but also dangerous. It is time to start thinking for yourself, vet what you hear, read research done by those who don’t have a horse in the political power race. For starters, continue reading the excellent reporting of The Signal. No axes to grind, only a passion to keep you aware and alert to what is happening in our community.
So, what am I suggesting? Do some of your own thinking! For example, figure out why gas prices in California are monumentally higher than anywhere else. Research the high-speed rail project. Look up whether male and female are determined by biological markers in each of the billion or so cells of the human body. Find out how many dollars have been spent on “ending homelessness” and see if progress is being made.
As you set about finding truth, be aware today’s power is found in words. Be alert to those who reshape reality through words, labels and slogans. Don’t be fooled when what they propose is more about emotions than reality. And lastly, force yourself to take knowing seriously. Don’t let others do your thinking and knowing for you.
It is time to reclaim the discipline of independent, evidence-based, well-reasoned thought.
Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.
