4/11/2000
Discernment, Part 2
Since conservatives have to battle blatant lies every day, it is not only embarrassing,
but almost grievous when we find ourselves accidentally passing on an untruth. Just like a
computer virus sneaking into your e-mail system and re-launching itself to all your
friends with the credibility of YOUR NAME attached, so it is when we accept every story
our well-meaning friends tell us.
A Southern California talk show host has taken on one such task with a clever web site at http://www.truthorfiction.com. There he
clarifies what the real story is, if there really is one, behind rumors that have spread
through Christian circles over the last 20 years.
A guideline we should all use when passing on a story is to verify the source. Just like
the definition of a New Testament apostle being someone who saw Christ directly or the
first generation friend of one who saw Christ directly in the flesh.
Let us put a magnifying glass on our opponents for a moment. Not ALL major media is bad.
When a freeway pile-up occurs, and the cameras show a stack of wreckage, the images tell
enough truth to verify the story. Living in Southern California, it is a relief to know
the major media has million dollar helicopters with TV cameras to show accurate assessment
of what direction brush fires are headed, or if a bridge is out due to an earthquake or
flood. So I commend the major media when they take us directly to the source of a story
and let us judge the obvious facts. This type of "visible truth" is something
the big budget media excels at. It unfortunately gives them a false sense of credibility
when it comes to "not so visible" stories where subjective words are used, or
the battle cry of the adolescent "everybody does it" is tossed about.
When I worked in an aerospace machine shop many years ago. I learned one category of job
titles that had few friends in the plant were the inspectors. No one liked to have their
mistakes pointed out to them. Since I made it my policy to always double-check my own work
before calling for final inspection, I not only developed a good friendship with these
lonely guys, but a new problem started. The inspectors seemed to develop a
"favorites" list. They would do extensive inspection of guys who turned out
shoddy work, which was good, but they started stamping my work approved with only a
cursory inspection. This scared the daylights out of me. No matter how good my intentions
are, we all know EVERYBODY can make mistakes. We need to be careful to never place a
blanket acceptance on every story that comes our way, no matter how credible the person is
relaying it. I can't imagine any true conservative starting a lie, but stories can
certainly become embellished after only a few generations. Even forwarded e-mail can pick
up a virus somewhere. But that's another story.
LateNiteLeroy
Webmaster at http://www.commutefaster.com
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