Navigating to Better Conversations (#761)

Talking about covering up when someone pokes through your illusions, this has been a difficult summer for the national news media. They have been repeatedly outed for subverting the truth in the pursuit of ratings and to advocate for political positions that serve only a slice of society. Wayne's back from his vacation and responds to some interesting news articles and listener emails about previous podcasts regarding A Language of Healing for a Polarized Nation, and his concerns about the state of politics in America. It isn't easy or popular for those who want to invite people from the extremes for a more reasoned and helpful conversation, but it is worth doing. If you only see extremists on one side of an issue, it might well mean that you're holding the extreme on the other side.

Podcast Notes:
A Language of Healing
Non Sequitor Cartoon about Bridging the Gap
Why I'm Leaving MSNBC
Ex-Fox News host says its reputation for racism is 'for very good reason'
Bari Weiss on Leaving the NY Times
Can You Help Us One More Time in Kenya? 

4 Comments

  1. More so than ever I would really like to be an informed voting citizen of our country. Is it possible to get non-partisan news for candidates and policies and things going on in our world? I limit my news to NPR but am aware that NPR has a bent too. Do you have any suggestions?

  2. Hi Nancy. Yes PBS is biased to the left, but it isn’t trying to make a profit, so it will be less sensationalistic. I think the best way to help sort out what’s true is to read or view media from both sides— so, a bit of FOX and a bit of NBC/ NY Times. Look for the biases in what they are writing/saying. Believe about 30% of it. It also helps to have a commentator or podcast athlete you consider good at giving both sides of a view before giving their own input. Anything that belittles the “other side”, sensationalizes headlines, or leaves out stories in other media, help point to their bias. For instance, the fact that we now have a confession from someone in the FBI LIED to the FISA Court to allow them to spy on the Trump campaign, is probably one of the biggest stories of political corruption in the last 30 years. Yet, the media that sides with the left completely ignored it. Conversely, the media on the right does not hold President Trump accountable when he he completely makes up a story to get the media barking after a phantom rabbit. The truth rarely lies with either side, but can be found somewhere in the middle.

    • Hi Jim. Do we really have to spell it out? He began with lying about how many people attended his inauguration, then continued with misrepresentations about the wall, COVID, whether masks are advisable to fight the virus, what Biden’s real policies are. He trades in distortion and deception. I’m not a Trump hater. In fact, I like many of the policies he has implemented regarding trade, China, immigration, and the economy. His character, however, and his treatment of people who see things differently than he does has brought us to the brink of civil conflict.

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