Documentaries: Some Are Fiction

"People understandably expect to be presented with facts when they watch a documentary. There are, however, some notable or high-profile things that documentaries got wrong. Although truth and authenticity are elements every nonfiction film should strive for, movies are made by people, and sometimes people make mistakes, or have a bias or agenda related to a controversial subject that leads to inaccuracies, omissions, or misleading conclusions. Historical documentaries are particularly susceptible to these flaws."

Click on the link below for insight into a product of media that can violate your sense of trust by lying to you:

Famous Documentaries That Bent The Truth

Socrates And Democracy

"We’re used to thinking hugely well of democracy. But interestingly, one of the wisest people who ever lived, Socrates, had deep suspicions of it."

Click on this link for a frank look at the soft underbelly of education in the USA. THIS is the reason why the disinformation and gaslighting of the Republicans are so successful. Even if the Democrats win in November, our democracy will be tentative for decades unless the USA changes regarding education and critical thinking.

Definitions All Voters Need To Know

ANTI-SCIENCE: a set or system of attitudes and beliefs that are opposed to or reject science and scientific methods and principles (link)

AUTOCRACY: government in which one person possesses unlimited power (link)

CORRUPT: to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions (link)

CULT: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (link)

EVIL: morally bad, cruel, or very unpleasant (link)

FASCISM: a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government (link)

GASLIGHTING: manipulating someone into believing things that are not true (link)

LYING: deliberately untruthful; deceitful; false (link)

GULLIBLE: easily deceived or cheated (link)

RACIST: someone who believes that their race makes them better, more intelligent, more moral, etc. than people of other races and who does or says unfair or harmful things as a result (link)

SYCOPHANT: a person who tries to win favor from wealthy or influential people by flattering them; also known as brown-nosers, teacher's pets, or suck-ups (link)

THEOCRACY: government of a state by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided (link)
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IF YOU VOTE FOR THE REPUBLICANS IN THE US 2024 ELECTION, THE ABOVE IS WHAT YOU ARE AND/OR WHAT YOU WILL BE GETTING.

TV And The Lowest Common Denominator

In mathematics, the lowest common denominator is the smallest number of all the common multiples of the denominators when 2 or more fractions are given. In the media, it refers to the appeal to as many people as it possibly can so that advertisements are worth more and the revenue stream will steadily increase. 

Since the most prominent media in our culture is network television, one can expect that the level of education of the target audience would be the lowest in this media. Thus, the proliferation of mind-numbing shows like "The Housewives of (fill-in-the-blank)", fake wrestling, "not-very-funny" comedy, and network news that promote "fair and balanced" reporting and opinions without consideration of facts and the findings of science. For example, it is rare for them to truly present the harmful effects of religious activities, as well as alternatives to medicine, conspiracy theories, and other pseudoscience. 

In light of the above, there has never been a greater need for mandatory age-appropriate education in critical thinking and rigorous, timely fact-checking of all media. A gullible society can be easily molded by unscrupulous actors, including but not limited to corporations, politicians, and organized religions.

Society has figured out how to handle physical trash (sort of, at least). It's more than time for brain trash to be appropriately handled.

A Crash Course In Critical Thinking

To move from gullibility/credulity/magical thinking to critical thinking/skepticism/science-based thinking is one of the most difficult actions a person can take. Why? The human brain has flaws and is resistant to change for many reasons. If you are thinking in the former way and are open-minded enough to unbiasedly consider the alternative, this post is for you. Click on the link below and you will find one of the better articles on the subject. It is worthy of the label of "Critical Thinking 101" at the college level.

How to Think Critically and Stay Informed in a Sea of Misinformation

If A Statement Feels Good, Does That Make It True?

 "If you repeat something enough times, it comes to feel good and true."

The above statement is a key to understanding the success of both advertisements and indoctrination. Click on the link below for a brief video showing that the ways information is presented to us can significantly affect how we interpret such.

The Illusion of Truth