Have you noticed that since the term, “alternative facts,” was first introduced, that everything started to change in the way news has been covered (or colored, perhaps?)  Fact-checking has become something less important to many people.  People just want to listen to the news they want to hear, regardless of its veracity.  And they search for “sources” that agree with what they already believe to be true.

The worst part of this is what it does to our culture.  It creates more antagonism between religions, political parties, races and ethnicities and especially the way people treat each other on a daily basis.  Propaganda has always been around as have competing ideologies.  But today, there seems to be a scarcity of people trying to seek common ground and search for the facts together.

It is a scary thing that having a conversation with people we know means that we have to choose our topics so carefully as to avoid possible or even suspected differences of opinion.  Or, we must only talk to those with whom we know are like-minded.  Strong opinions can be emotional triggers.  Anger is a very strong deterrent to any peaceful, constructive conversations.  And so, if one doesn’t feel comfortable with conflict, fear can shut down the possibility of important conversations dealing with what is happening around us.

I have become a person that refers to different sources of fact-checking in order to find out how I really feel about what is happening in the present.  I want to know that the facts are as true as possible, and not just a colored opinion of what happened or is happening on a daily basis.  One can agree or disagree about something that happened, but the proof of what happened at that event in the specific place and time should be an unbiased source.  Otherwise, we are all stuck in a place where important conversations are nothing more than conflicting opinions.  Real, honest communication requires truthfulness.  And maybe ground rules need to be established before these conversations can even begin.

All I know for sure, is that I am hoping that more of us can begin to find common ground and have open conversations that will lead to a better understanding of each other.  Then, the possibility of some agreement and compromise can be the way we interact with others.  And that would be a very good thing indeed.