Dancing with the Stats

Trump says this, Biden says that, Fox says this, MSNBC says that, and on and on we go, lost in a fog of competing paradigms.  With no real anchor in reality we continue to make decisions based on our perceptions and beliefs.  It is as though we want to go to Mars, but some argue Mars is a myth or a liberal conspiracy and we have never really sent a rover there, while others argue it is the 4^th planet in our solar system and we know exactly where it is and yes we have landed rovers there.  How do we resolve these issues?  How do we clean up our current political mess?

Here’s how:  We speak the truth.  We identify the truth.  We separate the truth from the lies and make it clear to all what is what.  In my humble opinion and limited brain power it appears to me that unless we can all agree what is truth and what is fiction we will never escape our current crisis and will lapse deeper and deeper into divisiveness and vitriol, doing from the inside what our enemies wish they could do from the outside.  We must stop our current cannibalism if we are ever to return to being the land of the free and the home of the brave.

To say such implies that there is one truth.  There is no such thing as alternative facts.  There is no such thing as multiple truths.  There are alternative beliefs and those beliefs purport to be the truth, but facts must mean more to us that beliefs or we are doomed.

I spend a great deal of time fact-checking what I hear from the players and the media.  It is very discouraging to learn how many in the public arena simply lie.  Until we can convince each other that these sources tell the truth and these sources lie we are at risk.

How do we identify the truth and separate it from lies, opinions, falsehoods and beliefs?  We follow the successful model of reality TV shows, that is how.

We identify a panel of experts.  Democrats, Republicans, political scientists, economists, evangelicals and those who maintain fact checker websites.  This panel is convened every evening from 7:00 to 9:00 to review what the “news” is broadcasting and what the politicians are saying.  Scrolled across the bottom of the screen is the panel’s conclusion regarding what the presenter is saying:  False, misleading, opinion, truth.  Then as time goes by the panel is rated based on their accuracy in identifying the truth.  Some may bat 1000, some may earn a mere 10%, but we will know.  And we say any panelist who fails to achieve at least 50% accuracy is removed from the panel.  It is like American Idol with the judges being judged as well as the performers.  Meanwhile, the sources of the information also get a rating.  Trump may get 5% and Biden 90% truthful statements, but we will know.

And I suspect there would be a constant scroll at the bottom of all Fox News broadcasts that says, “This show is for entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as reporting facts.”

Surely the producers of Survivor, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, etc. will recognize the possibilities here.  It could be called Dancing with the Stats or whatever.  But if we knew, really knew, who was lying, who was stretching the truth, who was simply voicing their opinion and not facts, and who was speaking the truth, then as a nation I believe we can escape this quagmire.  We will be free once the truth is known.

Or is that just too Pollyanna?  My experience has been that when MAGA’s are confronted with truth they retreat to name calling and their minds close even more.  If the truth will not set them free then perhaps the voting booth will.  I even doubt that, however.  The MAGA’s won the last round of elections and they are still fearful and still mad.  Geeze.