By Jim Heffernan
I’ve been thinking a lot about Tillamook County, the place we chose to make our home back in 1979. It was the serendipity of an available job that brought me here, but it seemed a good fit.
The unrivaled natural beauty of the place, coupled with the openness and simplicity of the hard-working locals charmed us.
Now I’m not so sure. Now, I feel that simplicity that I so admired has become a curse. We no longer resist the attraction of easy lies that comfort our darker impulses. Too many of us buy into whatever story that appeals. We draw comfort by discarding a concept of “we” and replacing it with a concept of “us” and “them”.
I look at the local instances, the stealing and vandalism of political signs, racial turmoil that causes a high school football game to end at halftime, and high school book bans. I wonder what we’ve become and my pride of being from Tillamook is diminished. We’ve lost our moral compass and become a rabble that attaches itself to whatever siren song suits us.
Tillamook is not alone in the moral ugliness of our culture. It pervades our entire country.
The only explanation I can come up with is we now longer revere critical thinking when we gather our information. Too many of us hear the lie that tariffs will be paid by foreign countries and believe it. Too many of us hear the lie that “mass deportiations” are a good idea and accept it. Too many of us do not understand the difference between social media and journalism. Too many of us do not understand the difference between truth and fiction.
I am impressed that Finland now includes critical thinking as an integral part of their elementary education, emphasizing how students can learn how to identify misinformation. We should do it too. (here’s a link to the article, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/10/world/europe/finland-misinformation-classes.html If link doesn’t work for you, contact me at codger817@gmail.com and I will e-mail a pdf file)
I recently came across the terms “vertical reading” and “lateral learning”. I think the concept can apply to listening also.
“Vertical reading” is when you read an article and assume it to be true. “Lateral reading” is when you read an article and you wonder about it and check other perspectives.
Other perspectives tell us that tariffs will always be passed on to the consumer.
Other perspectives tell us that mass deportations will cripple many industries, cheese and milk production high on the list. Population trends and warped sensibilities have relegated “three D” (dangerous, dirty, and demeaning) jobs to immigrants who often get here illegally.
It’s well past time we develop a robust skill of critical thinking throughout our society. This election is a good place to begin.
As always, discussion welcome at codger817@gmail.com
