The world lately has felt at times like it is spinning off its axis and freefalling through space. Dramatic? It feels that way! Between the looming election in the US, the coronavirus, and all the speculation spawned from this extended period of uncertainty...the ground feels at times like it is falling away. I was talking to my sister in-law the other day about how this moment and the ubiquity of social media as a source of news in people's lives is creating a culture where critical thinking is vanishing.
I want to understand, is this a symptom of information overload? There seems to be a waning trust in our media and an increasing trust in information found via social media. I wonder if it is because the last four years in America have been a deliberate sowing of doubt in traditional news sources and we as Canadians are so closely tied to our Southern neighbors that that rhetoric and sensibility is bleeding into our soil?
There have been instances reported in Canada in recent weeks where people are so distressed at the idea of being told to wear a mask that they have caused a scene in stores. When confronted with the video of their behavior they have doubled down.
Conspiracy theories are rampant in a way I haven't seen before. I remember not long ago, when people would roll their eyes at the people claiming the moon landing never happened. When did this change and can we be surprised?
Knowledge is supposed to be the antidote to ignorance. But what happens when people fundamentally lose their trust in the news? When I was in my 20's I learned for the first time about residential schools in Canada and how they had contributed to a cultural genocide of First Nations people at the hands of our government. How could our government white wash history in this way? I can understand a distrust of government. And the fact that the media was not calling out that rewriting of history...well I can understand a distrust in the media too.
But we have to remember the importance of critical thinking. We have to choose not to succumb to the fear and the divisiveness that is threatening our society. We have to remind ourselves of the good in humanity. As much as this pandemic has brought out the worst in some people, it has brought out the best in so many others.
In Canada, we have seen the social supports from the government helping businesses and families make ends meet. We have seen the versatility and resilience of people as they adapt with hope that we will get through this. We have seen communities come together to raise funds and help the most vulnerable among us. I am choosing to see the world from that perspective.
I am choosing to think critically. To remember there is a difference between a fact and an opinion. A fact and a belief. Because these are crucial concepts and we need to engrain them in our children and our society.
-Amanda.
