What A Fool Believes

Confession time. When I was a kid, I used to believe that if you swallowed gum it would take seven years for my body to digest. When I was a teenager, I thought that being gay was a lifestyle choice. When I was in my early twenties, I thought smoking was cool and cigarette bans were stupid.

It's embarrassing to look back at some of the foolish things I accepted and defended as truth before my narrow worldview expanded. Life's journey is filled with intellectual awakenings that help us grow and have a better understanding of the world around us. I find as I get older, I'm less inclined to dig in my heels to defend a position that upon further study, may prove to be false.

One of my most enduring life lessons came from a grade school teacher who taught me how to look at news media with a critical eye. Who is the source? Is there corroberating evidence? Is there an agenda in how the information is presented? Are multiple sources reporting the same thing? In this post-truth era, it has never been more important to seek out facts, even when the truth is not particularly palatable. This takes some determination, but it also takes courage. Courage to recognize that your worldview might be smaller than you thought and from time to time, courage to admit you were wrong.

When it comes to sports reporting, click-bait headlines and ego-driven opinion pieces are among the greatest obstacles in the path to the truth. Particularly in the crazeball hockey market that is Montreal, where juicy headlines and heated debate are fast becoming the hallmark of Habs fandom. The tiniest nugget of information, or a quote taken out of context, can quickly morph into an unwieldily beast of speculation, presumption and imagined controversy. It's unfortunate that a few gifted and intelligent individuals choose to skew the facts of a story to support a scintillating narrative, truth be damned. Unfortunately, this is what happens when so many media outlets are competing in a death race for audience attention. Controversy and conspiracy sells, and sadly there will always be a voracious appetite for such things.

For those of us interested in the facts, navigating the glaring headlines to get at the real story can be a challenge. The critical questions I learned in grade school still apply, but I also believe we need to focus on the qualities of the reporters themselves. Look to those who cover stories from multiple angles. Look to those who consistently report facts without suggesting what they mean. Look to those who treat individuals with respect, but also ask tough questions, and are not content with trite answers. Most of all, look to those with the courage to admit they were wrong.

When is comes to the increasingly diverse and ever expanding world of Habs media, you can easily find a source that will feed you facts and interpretations to support what you want to believe. Certainly that's a path that will keep you secure in a narrow worldview. Personally, I'd rather be proven wrong than go on believing in foolish things.