Three things have come to my attention recently. Three things which are great examples of how our society does not have strong critical thinking skills. Three things that highlight our inability to recognize fallacy. Three things that demonstrate the willingness of most Americans to be duped by 30 second sound bytes and comments taken out of context.
So here they are...
1) President Obama's comment being taken out of context.
There has been some serious uproar over a comment that Obama made as part of a recent speech on July 13th. The infamous line is "If you have a business, you didn't build that. Someone else made that happen."
Taken out of context I can see why that would infuriate small business owners who pour their life into their entrepreneurship. However, if you read the entire speech you can see that Obama's point was much larger...
Look, if you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something — there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.
If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business — you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.
The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together.There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don't do on our own. I mean, imagine if everybody had their own fire service. That would be a hard way to organize fighting fires.
So we say to ourselves, ever since the founding of this country, you know what, there are some things we do better together. That's how we funded the GI Bill. That's how we created the middle class. That's how we built the Golden Gate Bridge or the Hoover Dam. That's how we invented the Internet. That's how we sent a man to the moon. We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people, and that's the reason I'm running for President — because I still believe in that idea. You're not on your own, we're in this together.
You can disagree with Obama and his policies, you can argue that the role of government should be minimal, you can vote against the guy if you think he is a socialist...what you should not do is fall victim to the twisting of words by media and political outlets. Have better reasons for your beliefs than a text without context.
Looking at the entire speech, it is clear that Obama was making a point about the partnership between government and business. He wasn't slamming small business owners. Seek truth more than a validation of your preconceived worldview.
2) Romney's "Racism."
An anonymous adviser to Mitt has apparently said something like:
We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he (Romney) feels that the special relationship is special. The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.
This comment (while disavowed after the uproar) has caused some to label Romney as a racist. They have implied that the contender's campaign is saying that a white man has a better understanding of Britian than a man of African heritage. This is absurd.
First off, Romney is telling the truth. America and Britain do share a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. We speak English and we still hold on to many of the customs from our old Mother Country. Saying that Obama may not be best suited to understand that is a dig at when Obama returned Churchill's bust. It isn't racism, its just an attempt to stir up some Brits who love Churchill.
I am not saying that the phrase (if said) was the best line for Romney to use, but racist...hardly. Americans need a lesson in history. There is a special relationship with the Brits, it is our heritage. Which candidate is best qualified to maintain that relationship is up for debate, the racism of the reported remark is not.
3) Chic-Fil-A's stance on marriage.
Another major news story this week has been the quote of CFA Chief, Dan Cathy. Dan is quoted as saying some anti-gay remarks to the Baptist Press in their July 16th story. Here are those "horrible" remarks in context.
The company invests in Christian growth and ministry through its WinShape Foundation (WinShape.com). The name comes from the idea of shaping people to be winners.
It began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.
"That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries," Cathy added.
Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.
"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.
"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."
As a result of those remarks, the mayor of Boston and a Chicago alderman have made efforts to block or ban Chic-Fil-As from their city/ district. Really? So this is what it has come to. A corporation being denied the opportunity to do business based on their company principles.
People need to understand the difference between predjudice and discrimination.
The word prejudice is most often used to refer to preconceived judgments toward people or a person because of gender, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, nationality, or other personal characteristics.
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on his or her membership - or perceived membership - in a certain group or category. It involves the group's initial reaction or interaction, influencing the individual's actual behavior towards the group or the group leader, restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to a group, leading to the exclusion of the individual or entities based on logical or irrational decision making.
Prejudice is covered as free speech under the 1st Amendment. Discrimination is illegal for a business.
CFA can support traditional families all they want, even if that means they disagree with homosexuality and same sex marriages. That is their right.
What CFA can't do is refuse to serve homosexuals or refuse to hire homosexuals who qualify for employment.
CFA released a statement to address the furious uproar that came from the media and LGBT groups after Cathy's interview:
The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.
Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.
Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
Again, this CFA story is an example (like the other two) of citizens who fail to think critically, apply logic, recognize fallacy and use common sense. We are, as a nation, getting so polarized and so led by irrational emotive responses that I fear for our future.
PLEASE, think for yourself. Don't buy the hype.
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