Letter: Let’s hope for more critical thinking

Published 11:15 am Monday, February 5, 2024

We are approaching another presidential election. Just as with the last several, the country is strongly divided on important issues and each side feels strongly that they are right about what they believe.

One of the biggest causes of this divide is where people get their information to inform their opinions. With the rise of the internet, the number of sources of information available to a majority of the population has skyrocketed. Anybody who can put together a website or a podcast can now become an expert on every issue imaginable. It is human nature to be attracted to people and ideas that mirror what we already believe. Hearing our long-held beliefs spit back at us proves to us that what we believe is true.

For many of us, the ability to sort out fact from fiction, truth from lies, is one of our weakest muscles. This process is called critical thinking and people around the world — not just our country — have lost this ability, or likely never had it. This is one of the advantages of a good education, even if only through high school. You are exposed to a variety of ideas and you are taught how these ideas were formed, and are given the chance to grapple with these ideas and come to a reasonable conclusion on your own.

Unfortunately, the people who have benefited from a lack of information or a program of misinformation are fighting hard to prevent critical thinking. In states like Florida and Texas, political leaders are passing laws to withhold certain information about slavery, sexual identity, and the subjugation of Native Americans, and more. Although misinformation has been going on for generations, people who feel threatened by “widening the playing field,” are now accepting an avalanche of lies and distortions.

Our last president is facing multiple charges in multiple jurisdictions, but polls show a majority of Republicans believe it is all made up. No matter how many staunch Republicans have testified about the misdeeds, lies, and his blatant attempt to overturn a close but losing effort to win re-election, his faithful followers continue to believe his self-serving kind of leadership will save our country from a growing, determined population of non-white Americans. Let’s hope some of these followers exercise some critical thinking before it is too late.

MICHAEL GOLDBERG

Ocean Park