Letters from Linden
by JACK LINDEN
With modern technology, it is possible for a rumor or an out-and-out lie to get around the world in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, too many people believe everything they read on the internet, especially when it comes to either political party.
Not long ago people believed that if something was in print, it was true. A picture certainly proved the event. And, to validate a statement, all you had to do was produce a tape recording (disc now) to prove the truth. Now, recordings and photos can easily be doctored, making them unreliable sources. One only needs to remember the Nixon tapes to prove a point.
In this current political season, it behooves all of us to make sure that what we are reading or seeing is true. It is very easy in this modern electronic age to splice recordings or alter them, photoshop pictures and take words or paragraphs out of speeches to give a particular slant to a story.
Two recent incidents have shown me how dangerous the electronic age can be. Both examples here involve the Obamas, as I will claim a bit of bias. But no matter the political party, seeking the truth is much more important.
A friend of mine of the opposing political persuasion showed me a picture purporting to be Michelle Obama. My friend had received the picture with disparaging remarks about Obama and her attire. According to the comment, the lady in the picture with outlandish attire was Obama appearing at a Children’s Book Awards ceremony. In the process of checking out the picture, it was not discernible that it was really Obama. It ended up that the photo was actually a lady at a book awards ceremony in England.
The second incident began with the Britebart group stating that the president would be spending the Fourth of July in Paris raising money. The conservative magazine National Review published the story as fact with a condemnation of the president and his cavorting with rich friends in Paris. With that being published, Karl Rove, the political advisor to former President G.W. Bush, carried the story on his blog and in his e-mails from his political action committee.
The adversaries of the president questioned his loyalty and patriotism, even raising the question of why would he be in Paris rather than visiting the wounded here in America. The real story is that Americans in Paris were raising money for the president who also would be celebrating the Fourth of July there. Those same Americans celebrated with the French on Bastille Day, the 14th of July. Where was the president then? He was with wounded veterans and soldiers who were getting their citizenship, celebrating with them at the White House in the good ol’ USA.
These two examples among thousands on both sides of the political spectrum show how quickly rumors and lies can spread if we are not careful about what we read and believe. We must remember that information can be both true or false. Politicians and their allies are known to have doctored documents to meet their needs. We need to realize that some of our friends or online “friends” can do the same thing in today’s world. Know your friends as well as your opponents, as they can lead you down the wrong path.
