Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Unfortunately many Americans get a narrow and inaccurate view of ourselves through that same media, and those in other countries often have exactly the same problem. That same media tends to shape our thinking or ourselves and others, depending on what they show us. For instance, the Somali pirates are either a bunch of $#!*$ attacking innocents who need to be bombed out of existence, or desperate men from a hopelessly poor country who need serious help and aid, depending on whose media you tune in to.
That is always a danger, and it is up to individuals to look further than what the media tries to spoon-feed us, to get the truth.
One of the values of forums like this is to bring different sources of information together, which can help an individual see all sides, and make a more informed decision about a topic.
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You are quite correct, Steve. One of the great benefits of the Internet is that it gives us access to data sources that we would not traditionally have had. The biggest problem, for me at least, is finding the time to sort through the data to separate fact from fiction (or opinion). Unfortunately, the way some websites are presented, it isn't always easy to make that distinction. When I taught fifth grade, I would tell my students to very cautiously use the Internet as a source for information. I told them to focus on sites with a ".edu" or ".gov" address, but even then, you can get information with a slanted view point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ea
Thanks for the clarification. I almost understood you POV to be that it would be best of we all shut up out of politeness and only stuck to things that would not risk hurting anyone. To me, that's too close to a kind of self-censure that I really don't agree with.
I know what it can be like when you hear/see what the press in other countries write about your country, and what other says, but not everyone belives everything the press tells them. USA is also so big and makes so much 'noise' on the world scene that it would be expected. It goes the other way, too. I have seen some odd things said/written about Denmark, but usually I just shrug it off - it's not worth the effort (though, given the size of my country, I should probably be grateful they have heard of it at all  ) |
I am so glad that you asked for clarification, although I'm not sure I actually made anything clearer with all the extra gobledy-gook I added!
I absolutely do not want people to "shut up" when they feel strongly about something. My family would tell you it is physically impossible for me to do that!! However, I do think that you should support your opinions with either personal knowledge or factual data from research. Perhaps that's the teacher in me!
I also feel that one can present their opinion and discuss opposing opinions without digressing into rudeness. I will say, though, that sometimes it isn't always easy to see that our posts might be considered rude to someone else when we are feeling passionate about the topic.
Kaz