3/11/2010 - West Side Leader
     

To the editor:

I, for one, feel very frightened by all the information swirling around online, in the news, popular opinion and on TV. It is all so convoluted and hard to track the origins of information and its accuracy. I often refer to snopes [www.snopes.com] when I get sent an e-mail or read something, see a news story that seems fueled by emotion or special interest and not fact. Often I find that these claims are indeed false. I try and fact-check whenever possible, but it is all so daunting due to the sheer volume of information we are exposed to daily.

The absolute polarization of the political parties is also adding to the problem. There needs to be a balance, but it seems to have been turned into an exercise in hate and posturing. I feel like both sides are playing fast and loose with the constitution and their roles as taxpayer-paid representatives. Many are wielding their power to be contrary and not respecting the process of information sharing and problem solving. It seems that much of the powers that be are forgetting what their job is and for whom they are working.

All the misinformation is making for a climate of mistrust, and it is not helping the political process. We need a healthy dose of skepticism to make informed choices, coupled with a quest to seek the truth, not what our emotions tell us is correct, but what is actually true. We must resist the urge to go on visceral reactions.

It is easy to get a snowball rolling down hill when emotion and fear is employed — it gains momentum very quickly. What is needed is fact sharing and common sense. Perhaps models of scenarios that have worked in the past that are reviewed and diligently dissected to tailor make our health care system, immigration reform, job creation, economy solutions and the like.

The current state of things has proven to be like getting stuck in the mud — the more you spin your tires, the deeper you get in the muck. Traction is lost and so are the messages, solutions and loyalties.

No purposeful changes can be crafted in this present environment. A reprioritizing has to take place. I am suspect that legislators will allow President [Barack] Obama to lead them into making change that is in the best interest of this country.

No reform will be perfect, but striving to lay down shields and rhetoric and using reason, cooperation and facts will help. While eliminating emotional vexing to create meaningful change that will better serve the process and future of these United States.

Patrice Faulhammer, Bath

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