I have a tendency to believe that my opinions are gleaned from years of rational and objective analysis. The truth is that most of our opinions are developed from years of paying attention to information that was aligned with what we were already inclined to believe while ignoring information that challenged our preconceived notions. This is known as confirmation bias. We always like to hear that our opinions are true…we like confirmation that we are correct.
Punditry is an industry built on confirmation bias. People like Rachael Maddow, Bill Maher, Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh pre-filter (to put it mildly) the information that they present. Even entire news channels are skewed towards liberal (MSNBC) or conservative (Fox News) narratives. They provide the fuel to further build your “beliefs”. If their belief filter matches your belief filter then you love them….if not, then you may think they are idiots. Listening to pundits distorts your ability to discover facts….everything is already prepackaged with their spin to the left or right.
We need to look beyond mainstream media sources that constantly feed our confirmation biases if we are ever going to expand our world view into one that is more meaningful and compassionate towards ourselves, others, and the planet. We need to look inward and challenge our own beliefs. How much of what you believe to be true is really just following someone else’s opinion? How often do you really explore a topic so that you can develop your own body of information instead of accepting the ready-made conclusions of mainstream media, family, friends, your culture or religion? How much of what you believe is so because it is comforting to you? Too much comfort coats the soul with soot. Get uncomfortable!
A few books that I’ve enjoyed and feel they have broadened, informed or changed my perspective regarding politics, the media and the economy this election cycle are:
Republic, Lost, by Lawrence Lessig
ManufacturingConsent, by Noam Chomsky
A Peoples History ofthe United States, by Howard Zinn
The Two-Income Trap, by Elizabeth Warren
The Price ofInequality, by Joseph Stiglitz
No Contest, by Alfie Kohn
The Second Amendment,by Michael Waldman