To Write...Or Not to Write?

So, what is writing to you?

Why, wha-what do you mean? 

I mean, what does writing mean to you? I know you love it. But, why?

   Where do I even begin?.....Profoundly, elegantly, uniquely, writing holds the key to this world that few other actions can ever do. It defines. It communicates. It penetrates. It teaches. It stabs. It hurts. It heals. Writing is using words as your weapon. It must be treated wisely, carefully, and used only for good. It can change the world. Writing so completely holds the world together, that we can not live for even a few minutes without using something attached to it.

 The written word, gives us something with which we do an amazing feat called "reading". How much do you read? If you do school? Well, it's a given that you read then. If you clean a house? You have to read the labels on cleaning bottles and instructions for equipment you use. If you have to buy or grow food? Of course! More labels, seed packets, ingredients, tools all have to be read to understand what they are. If you have to fix a car? More reading. If you have to vote? There is a lot of reading ahead of you. If you have to tell many people about something important? Whether through a speech, or research, or blogging, etc. you and others just had to read. And reading can only happen if writing has come first. Writing is invaluable in every way to every part of our world.

 Now, what I just wrote is my opinion. You may like writing, but not think it's quite that important. You may hate writing and think we should all go back to just talking when we need something. You could also love writing so much more than I do that it boggles everyone's minds! These are all opinions. These are all types of bias. Every person that has ever existed has such a thing as a bias. It is a part of us we can never truly avoid. We can and should, sometimes, work to be impartial. We should always try to see all the sides of an issue before we decide where to stand. We should pursue being balanced and, often, more moderate in our words and actions, at times. 

 However, there remains a time when we must pick a side. We have to chose where we are going to stand. We have to decide what we are going to fight for and what we are going to fight against. And that, is where people differ. That is were we find that true impartiality is impossible for us. Everyone, to some degree is biased. It is far from bad. It is just the truth. And the truth will set us free. 

Check, Check, and Fact Check Again

 Do you ever find yourself reading something and thinking, "Well, that was very simple."? I'm going to guess not. We expect things to be simpler. We are wired to find short-cuts, to find the simple way that everything works. So, when we read, or write, or look at everything around us we do not instantly expect it to be chaotic or the thousand shades of gray that it is, we expect it to be a bit clear and calm, at least. We expect it to be simple, and we start to take simple for granted.

  Not so strangely, then, I came to the subject of news, journalism, and media with the impression that it was simpler. Not simplest, mind you, but still simpler. It's not. There is truly so much more to dig up here in what I'm about to share. The "rough draft of history" will always be in need of updating. Yet, more importantly, it will always be in need of checking and re-checking.

  The CIA's Mysterious Role in the Arrest of Nelson Mandela seemed like a rather interesting article for a history nerd such as myself, and it isn't anything short of that. Rumors have circled for decades that the CIA may have had a hand in the arrest and 27 years Nelson Mandela spent in prison. Due to his election as president after being released from prison, his efforts in the anti-apartheid movement, as well as his awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize, there is much concern surrounding these rumors. An ex-CIA agent did come out at one time, stating he had a role passing information along about Mandela, leading to his arrest. However, both the ex-CIA agent and Nelson Mandela have passed away now, and Mr. Mandela had no concerns with the idea that the CIA may have helped put him in jail. So, why should we still be concerned about this issue?

 Well, my first idea to find an answer to that question, was to learn more about the article's author,
The Washington Post journalist, Adam Taylor. The one in question, is a reporter of foreign affairs for The Washington Post who originally lived in London, England. Interestingly, he has gained some internet defamation, due to his reporting. A blogger, named Mike Cernovich has accused Adam Taylor of copying unreliable European government sources in his writing. So, I had to go do research on this man as well, to see if he was a source to be trusted. My first queue that he perhaps wasn't reliable was the fact that The Washington Post has not given any attention to these claims, (as far as I can find). It is not clear whether Cernovich works for or is accountable to any journalistic company, trustworthy or not. He is a lawyer, which is the most he will state. By his own writing with it's harsh, unprofessional, and evidently opinioned words, it appears Cernovich is rather a trouble maker than a good source. Otherwise, I found Adam Taylor to be a trustworthy.

  Next, still trying to answer the question, "Why this issue?", I decided to do a background check on the Washington Post itself. The more I did that, the more I realized how tiny a background check it was, but, it should still be said. First off, I must simply state: business in America isn't just big, it's huge! Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, as of fall 2013. He also owns Amazon.com and many other media outputs through his company, Graham Holdings Company. On a little (but not so very little, honestly) sidenote, Jeff Bezos's net worth is more than 60 billion. Independently of it's billionaire owner, The Washington Post has been know historically as a more left-leaning media output, which has endorsed Republican candidates and right-wing actions at times, too though. But, it has been noted over the years that other media sources either help push The Washington Post either to the left or right, but still mainly the middle, to keep business going.

 Due to the fact that we are looking at decades worth of rumors, and likely the CIA, it makes total sense that this issue is difficult to resolve. I think Mr. Mandela himself realized this issue may never be completely clarified, and did not even look at it as an problem worth his attention. So, maybe it's not worth ours either? Well, not exactly. History is always being discovered, rediscovered, rewritten, and rechecked. It is important to push to clear it up do the best of our abilities. And, more or less, which I lean to more, we may trust The Washington Post in it's reporting to us the new developments in uncovering history's secrets. Yet, always, so long as we are wary. Do not let names, or fallacies, or opinions blind you. Use the clever mind God has bestowed on each of us, to rightly determine the right from the wrong. Continue to be vigilant. Prudence and vigilance are some of the first steps in changing you and, inevitably, the world for God's glory.

Resources:

The Washington Post; https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/adam-taylor

The Atlantic Journal-Constitution; http://www.ajc.com/

The Sunday Times; http://www.thetimes.co.uk/?sunday

The Wall Street Journal; http://www.wsj.com/

Crime and Federalism; http://www.crimeandfederalism.com/2014/02/adam-taylor-of-the-washington-post-caught-plagaziring-government-propaganda-site.html

Forbes; http://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/

An Experiment in Logos

  

  Ah! How I do love logic! The deadly, forgotten little dagger of the wise, used in any battle which they find themselves amidst. Not to say that I think I am wise, but knowing yourself to be a fool is the first step in that direction.

 For most of my life I have relished finding fallacies and correcting even the littlest illogical arguments and happenings. In all truthfulness, I think anyone who knows me, hates me to this. So, I find it rather hard to pick just one instance of dealing with fallacies.

  Bandwagon fallacies seem to be the type that I see most easily, hate most, and have most stories about avoiding. One such tale happened last spring, when I was being passionately encouraged to join a youth political organization. For several weeks I received excited emails from a friend and an acquaintance, urging me to join this organization to "take back the government and culture" was the repeated phrase.

 Do not get me wrong, I am passionate about changing the direction that our government and culture are heading. And I know for a fact, that it all starts with each of us, individually and personally, but something didn't quite sit right with me about the email writers' pushy approach. I felt inclined to join because of the urgency and the appearance that many people I knew and respected were also joining or already part of the organization. In retrospect, it seems that there was a bit of false dilemma going on in these emails, as well. I slowly began to believe that there were just two options: join or have no part in changing the culture as a young person.

  Several wise influences came to my aid as I processed the dilemma. Another friend, a sibling, and most effectively, my mom listened and prudently directed my attention to the errors I was stumbling through. Over the course of two hours, my mom and I pondered everything I had gathered from the emails, looking at all the different ways I could still be effective to our government and culture with or without joining the organization. And, at last, she lead me to discover what had kept me so uneasy about jumping into this. Almost everything that compelled me to consider this was the belief that my friends loved and were doing it. In reality? Simply doing something because everyone else, or all your friends are doing it, is never the wisest path.  It is plainly and simply a fallacy; something young people, aspiring journalists, and, in short, anyone can fall for, so be wary! Be prudent! And do not forget to use that little, yet all important tool called logic!