Fact checking is becoming my #1 pet peeve with the internet

Warning: This is a rant. Read at your own risk.


I wrote a short post on Facebook about fact checking just a few days ago and here we are with all the gun control memes that people are taking as fact. It doesn't matter what side you're on, before you share that meme that says what you feel emotionally, take 30 seconds to do some research. Yes, that's all the time it takes thanks to Google.

As an example, I saw one meme claiming that there was never a gun carrying citizen who stopped a mass shooting. I was curious, so I Googled. Right there I had a dozen articles with some actual facts. (The meme was wrong. See below **)

In the past I've shared a meme or two that I didn't check first, I'll admit it. But there's a big difference between a meme with a quote that cites the wrong author, and a meme stating a supposed fact on a major issue that you're trying to take a stand on. Still, check those quotes. (I know I shared a meme quote one time citing Mark Twain as having said it and found out later that it wasn't him.)

Not every meme is inaccurate. I've seen some that proved to be very accurate. It just seems like the easier it is to find the facts the less people are willing to actually double check anything.

My personal opinion is it's the fast paced life we all live. You're on your lunch break, this meme strikes a cord with you so you share it. I remember a friend of mine - one of the last to join Facebook - said after being on for a few weeks that all anybody did was like and share, there was no conversations. He's right. Again, that fast paced, click one button and move on mentality.

I can be just as guilty. One of the things I love is the Like button, so I don't have to type. Click and move on.

I think the reason why I see this as a big deal is not simply the sharing of inaccurate memes, it's the bigger issue. We as a society have started taking everything at face value. One news blurb from some website and it's taken as fact. Look at all the satirical websites whose articles people believe are true. Why? Because they don't bother to check the source, or google the site that the article was on. (Usually the first thing that pops up is "fake news.") Even the news - you know with supposed journalists - have been guilty of reporting inaccurate stuff because it wasn't researched. It's on the internet. Yep, must be fact.

Where does it lead? How far does it go, how bad does it get before society says enough is enough. Then the question is, how do we fix it?

Looking back I guess we've always been this way to some degree. Gossip taken as gospel. Tabloids selling better than the New York Times. (I don't honestly know if that's true but sometimes it feels like it.) See, if you didn't fact check at least tell everyone you don't know if it's true. Now I want to go Google it, but it's 2:45 in the morning and I'd like to be done soon.

As I stated at the top this is a rant. My thoughts on a subject that can really annoy me. Ultimately it's a little post that will be lost among the billion of other posts. But maybe in my small corner of the world it can start a conversation. Who knows.


**For those curious, in the past 3 decades there have been about 15 or so incidents where the killing stopped because a citizen with a gun stepped in. This comes from about 5 different articles that I opened and quickly read through, plus the little blurbs under the titles of all the others on the first search page. All articles ranged in date posted from 2012 to this past May.



Picture source: pithyponderings.com

Coolest Skateboarding Cat!

This is just too cool.

Post by Wimp.com.

Life is a journey. Which path fits you?

I found myself collecting pictures of paths and roadways and wondering why. I'm not searching anymore. There is a peace inside that tells me I have found my way. I'm on my path. So what attracts me to pathways? The journey. It's the journey that gives us a life to live. 

Life is a journey. We all have a path to follow. Which path fits you?

Water does...

"Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you...

But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone...

Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does..."

~ Margaret Atwood



(via Suzie Plakson - Official Page)

We Have Permission To Dream

This song touched me. I can't even say why... What was it that captivated me and made me listen to it over and over? 

Since the band is not well known I decided to share it. Maybe it will touch others.

(If you recognize the lead singer you probably watch either General Hospital or Nashville.)

Permission To Dream by Enation

My love when you speak to me
Don’t you beg on the floor
‘Cause you have the right to stand
With your eyes on my throne
There is a road for you
Paved with dreams of your own
I don’t want to hear silence
When I’ve given you the floor
I don’t want to hear the same words
When I’ve called you to more
I don’t want to hear you whisper
When I’ve called you to scream
And in case you didn’t know
You have permission to dream
My love when you feel it rise
Don’t you resist, anymore
‘Cause what you feel is from my heart
And it’s meant to break and restore
I don’t want you to hesitate
When you’ve been called to explore
I don’t want to see you weary
When you’ve been made to soar
I don’t want to see you afraid
When I made you for war
I don’t want you to play the victim
When I’ve given you a sword
I don’t want to hear you whisper
When I’ve called you to scream
And in case you didn’t know
You have permission to dream
What do you want? Tell me
What do you see? Tell me
What do you dream? Tell me

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead

"The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your life is in your hands to break."
~J.R.R. Tolkien
 

 

Artist: irinama

Via: The Keeper Of The Flame.

My Life's Philosophy

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
                                                                               - Theodore Roosevelt

Being true to who you are

One of the most important lessons I've learned in this life is to always be true to who you are. The younger that you are when you learn that, the better off you are. Deep down I've always known who I am, but there were a lot of bumpy roads to be traveled before I could truly allow myself to simply be me.

I was not the kind of daughter my mother wanted. Don't get me wrong, she loved me, but I knew at a very young age my way of thinking, doing and being was not up to my mom's expectations. She wanted a daughter who was what I call girly; into make-up, hair, cloths. I couldn't have been more opposite. I never wear make-up, I simply run a brush though my hair and I dress for my comfort not for fashion. I've been that way ever since I can remember. Sure my mother put me in cute little dresses up until I was about seven or eight years old but that's when I started rebelling.

T-shirt and hair cut

I'll give my mother credit for at least listening to me. She didn't like it and I had to listen to her cry like a baby when I got my hair cut short, then yelling when I wore a t-shirt to school on picture day. But she didn't really try to change me. I mean, she very well could have put her foot down and forced me at that age. She didn't. But I did have to hear comments about my differences throughout my childhood.

My grandmother didn't overtly want me to change, but like my mother there were comments here and there. I remember Christmas day 1976. My grandmother bought me a blue dress. She wanted me to wear it for dinner. I refused. There was no way she was gonna get me in a dress. Well, my grandmother could be pretty persuasive, especially with my mom and aunts to back her up, so we compromised. I wore what I wanted for the day, then after dinner I changed into the dress. I was so uncomfortable. Honestly I hated it. That was the last time I wore a dress. I think it was difficult for my grandmother to understand why I wasn't like other girls my age.

The dreaded blue dress

Even with the female influences in my life trying to tell me how I should be I never gave in. In fact it made me stick to my guns even more. I can be stubborn. I get that from both my parents. But the thing is, because of all the pulling in the opposite direction I became insecure. I felt as if I was being told I couldn't do anything right. Those exact words were never spoken, mind you, but the things that were said had the same affect. I didn't know why I was so different, I simply was. All I could do was be who I was but as I got older I began questioning everything I did and felt.

On the one hand I was confident. I knew who I was, what I wanted and how I wanted to live. On the other hand I'd constantly question myself. It caused a lot of internal pain in my youth. There were a lot of suppressed feelings that took a long time for me to be comfortable acknowledging to myself, let alone anyone else. I feel like I went through my teens and twenties as half a person. Until I could be completely comfortable with who I was, every molecule, no matter what my mother, grandmother or society said, there was a part of me missing. I had to keep parts of myself hidden from everyone, even from me for awhile.

I had to embrace every part of me. Once I did that I became whole again. I liked who I was. That made handling whatever life threw at me a little bit easier. It was okay to be me.

I look at my nephews today and I hope that they find out who they are and also feel free to be who they are at a young age. I also hope my brother and sister-in-law allow their sons to discover for themselves who they are, with no expectations forced upon them.

If I could impart one piece of advice to my nephews it would be the same advice I would give my 10 year old self. Always be true to yourself. Don't let society, or even your parents, dictate who you will become. Deep down you know who you are. Believe in that person. Be true to you.