This year’s midterm elections, trending as they historically do towards a gain of seats by the party not in power, are in a position to create a seismic shift in the way our government functions. Because of this, the competition for your vote will be fierce. Sadly, illegal and unethical, even violent strategies have become the norm.
The perfect storm of high stakes, sophisticated technology, and low ethical standards for political behavior has led us to the unfortunate necessity of having to question the motives, as well as the facts, behind every statement we encounter as we look for a trustworthy source to help us make the important decisions that face us as voters.
It’s a bipartisan problem, since we’re all human and humans like to feel like they are in charge, but part of feeling in charge, in this era of division and rancor, includes calling the members of the opposing party losers and morons, mocking and dismissing whatever they believe in. This is a manifestation of what psychologists call “confirmation bias,” in which we believe without question the statements we already agree with, either accepting the vaguest of evidence or not asking for validation at all. It just “feels right” because we want to believe it.
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