Balance and truth, part deux

After writing last Sunday’s post about bias in the media, I stumbled upon more information and resources. I briefly considered adding to the original post which was already quite long. Instead I’ve decided to write a second essay on the same topic, an addendum to the original.

A former boss liked to reference quotes from Sun Tzu’s Art of War. He frequently applied ancient Chinese military strategy to business decisions and office politics. The imagery of war made sense to him, but it did not resonate with me. I’m more Peace Corps than Marine Corps; prefer to think of coworkers as colleagues rather than adversaries to be defeated or controlled. While playing the board game Risk with son Reid I began to understand how some people see war, and life, as a game to be played and won. I enjoy playing Risk with Reid, but I don’t live my life as though I’m at war with others. Not usually. The November election, however, is shaping up to be a battle for the soul of America.

Typically I seek to find common ground with people, to look for things we have in common rather than focus on differences. I believe it’s usually better to agree to disagree than to waste time and energy vainly arguing with someone in hope of changing their mind. I try to keep an open mind about most things, yet I admit I am biased and stubborn about certain things. I openly admit I lean left of center politically, and that I don’t respect or trust our current president. I don’t consider most republicans enemies though I do sometimes struggle to have productive conversations with family and friends who lean right, especially Trump supporters.

The piece below from Mother Jones references language between political rivals…

It’s also key to know your rival’s language — liberals tend to frame arguments in terms of kindness and equality, while conservatives favor loyalty, purity, and authority. Trying to persuade a political foe using your own moral framework is a losing game. “You have to empathize with them,” says Matthew Feinberg, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the University of Toronto.

Red Blue Dictionary helps people along the political spectrum speak with one another more effectively. Controversial terms and trigger words are sorted alphabetically and by category for easy reference.

Living Room Conversations take the language barrier concept a step further by offering dialogue prompts and a conversational model to facilitate connection between people despite differences. They even help to identify areas of common ground and shared understanding. If my Trump supporting dad and I were on speaking terms I might mention this to him. We tried to reconnect a few weeks ago but the experiment failed miserably. 

Reading an article from AllSides.com helped me delve deeper into media bias, and to be less outraged about Bleach Gate. I still contend Trump’s remarks during press conferences are not generally helpful, though I now have a little more empathy for his thought process because I too sometimes ask questions out loud when I’m thinking through things.

I can muster empathy for Trump when I think about him in the context of trying to do the best he can with limited resources and a  skewed world view. But my feelings of empathy give way to frustration and anger when I think about how his actions actually affect people. Despite his delusions that he is doing a great job, qualitative and quantitative data indicate that more people are hurt by Trump’s efforts than helped. I will save my rant for another day. For now I want to get back to the topic of media bias in the Trump era.

media bias meme

Jonathan Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, wrote in his new book that President Trump strategically baits the press into personal grudge matches that undercut the credibility of the media. “Too often in the Trump era, the press has looked like an opposition party,” Karl said during a podcast interview.

“He may be at war with the news media, but he is also in love with the news media… He sees the public jousting with the press as a critical component of the Trump show’s success,” Karl wrote.

Karl believes the press often plays into Trump’s hands which results in dangerous effects. “You have basically a third of the country, maybe more, that essentially won’t believe anything that they see in a newspaper or in a television news report,” he said.

“For all the spinning and stonewalling I have encountered in a career covering politics, the disregard for the truth I have witnessed at the Trump White House is qualitatively different.”

“The president himself has waged a sustained campaign to make people think the truth is a lie whenever he doesn’t like the truth or it makes him look bad,” Karl wrote. “This isn’t the dodging and weaving you expect to see from politicians. This is an assault on truth itself.”

From my perspective as an American citizen, I agree with Karl wholeheartedly. This presidency is different. I could agree to disagree with supporters of Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 but I can’t turn a blind eye to what is happening right now with 45. We are living in dangerously unprecedented times. The press is not the enemy of the people. Liberals are not the enemy of the people. Conservatives are not the enemy of the people. Extremists and the willfully ignorant are our enemies. We have met the enemy and they are us.

Pogo Trump meme

In the spirit of sharing softer news and/or silly vibes:

• Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata played on a 1940 harp guitar.
• CBS Sunday Morning: enjoying arm chair tours of museums.
• CBS Sunday Morning: fighting coronavirus with needle and thread.
• CBS Sunday Morning: Nathan Lane interview.
• Comedian dishes out dimes and drops hilarious Ramadan rhymes.
• Ramadan 2020:  activities that don’t involve food.
• Squirrel outwitted dog chasing it in the park.

Daily pandemic update:  

Afghanistan's health ministry raised alarm after a small study with random tests in Kabul suggested that about a third of the capital's residents could be infected. In Iran President Hassan Rouhani said mosques in low-risk areas were due to reopen. People in Spain were allowed to go for walks or play sports after 48 days of home confinement. The number of confirmed cases across the African continent exceeded 40,000.  Aljazeera.com timeline

3 May 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
13:04 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	3,415,632	3,506,398	239,826	245,193	1,087,567	1,129,810
US	1,131,492	1,161,109	65,776	67,448	161,563	173,725
NY	315,222	319,213	24,069	24,368	50,567	50,567
CT	28,764	29,287	2,339	2,436	65	65
NC	11,071	11,579	419	430	1,808	1,808

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter, son Reid lives in CT, and I live in NC. 
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/     https://www.coronainusa.com/  

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 in the US.

In the news:

• 34 year old Winston Salem woman shared coronavirus diagnosis and recovery experience.
• Bot tracker analysis confirmed bots and trolls are amplifying ReOpen protests. 
• Botanical sexism is partially to blame for seasonal allergies; plant diversity recommended.
• Disinfectant wipes supply chain is improving, expected to catch up to demand.
• Man responded to Trump tweet about ventilators; received $69 million contract.
• Not all science is good science.
• Rent strikes increase as unemployment rises. 
• Robert O’Brien: Trump’s fourth national security advisor.
• US Steel layoffs could impact 6,500 employees.
• White House gift shop, a private business not part of federal government, is selling coronavirus commemorative coins; proceeds to be donated to medical research.
• White House responded to allegations Dr. Fauci had been blocked from testifying on Capitol Hill.

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

• CA family brings joy to neighbors with silly walk zone.
• KS family recruited to make masks by 10 year old boy.
• MA boy received grand homecoming after beating cancer and coronavirus.

In my personal life…

Reading about political language differences reminded me of Dr. Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages:

1.     Words of Affirmation,

2.     Acts of Service,

3.     Receiving Gifts,

4.     Quality Time, and

5.     Physical Touch.

  

Greg and I both appreciate acts of service (ex: doing the dishes) and words of affirmation (ex: thanks for doing the dishes). Greg is way better than me at gift giving so I feel bad for him when I botch a gifting opportunity. He doesn’t complain much so maybe that’s not a primary love language for him, or maybe he just doesn’t want me to feel bad about something I’m so inept at compared to him. For me quality time is running errands together, working in the yard together, cooking and eating together, and date nights. For Greg quality time is sometimes watching tv together. Usually he doesn’t seem to mind if I’m multitasking (doing other things) while we’re watching tv but other times he is bothered, as if me not paying full attention to the big screen is disrespectful to our relationship or to him personally. When I sense that he may be feeling neglected then I usually stop what I’m doing to connect with him – unless what’s on tv is of no interest to me. Usually we work it out; no big deal. I think we both have lower needs for physical touch than when we were younger, though touch remains a meaningful connection between us. Small touches like hugs and gentle caresses are enough to help me feel loved and appreciated most days. Eye contact makes a big difference too, just looking deeply into each other’s eyes for a few moments. Greg has dreamy blue-hazel eyes.

For Minerva, words of affirmation don’t mean as much as treats of affirmation. Acts of service include long walks and car rides. She used to like playing fetch but not so much anymore. Gifts are appreciated only if they are edible. Quality time usually comes in the evening when she jumps up onto a recliner to be closer to us though sometimes she cuddles earlier in the day as well. Touch is very important to her; no matter how much we pet her or brush her fur it is never ever enough.

Minerva is Greg’s dog technically though we both share in her care.