I am so sick of reading articles online that quote sources without actually quoting anyone at all. Let's give an example from an article I was reading today. The article was explaining why teaching Children about Christianity at a young age is not brainwashing. (I have been doing a TON of research into Christianity as of late, but that is a whole other topic and not what this post is about.) The author writes this as the second paragraph in the article (source):
Now here is a perfect example of what bugs me, no where in here is there anything to back up the authors claims. The rest of the article moves on from there without ever backing up these statements that are supposedly being made. This person COULD have made the statements up right on the spot OR could have documented proof of these statements being said, but you the reader will never know. The author gives no proof to back up what they are saying and now everyone who reads this and agrees with the article walks away believing that people really are saying these things. I am going to break down the many flaws that I find are in that one single paragraph. (Remember this is not an attack on Christianity, just on this type of "reporting.")
First thing that bothers me right off the bat is the quotation marks around the word experts. Do you know why people do that? It is because you have been trained your whole like to believe that anytime you see quotations in that situation your brain automatically fills in the words "So called". So by seeing the quotations around the word experts, your brain reads that as, "Educators and so called experts who embrace evolution..." and that's not fair. The author has not only quoted something without proof, they have now immediately discredited anyone who is an expert and believes in evolution.
Second thing to go along with the first, using the word embrace to describe the non existent experts attachment to the theory of evolution. By wording it that way to people who are already on the side of the author, you are further discrediting that expert, who doesn't actually exist, by planting the image that they are anti creationism. The Author might as well have put the word embrace in all capital letters so as not to hide their disgust.
Third thing and I'm still in the first sentence, they started the whole paragraph off with the word Educators and it has no business being in this article what so ever. By starting the sentence off with the word Educators, and then putting quotations around the word experts, the author has just lumped all secular school teachers in with the authors non existent experts as the bad guy. Now yes, the author used the word educators and didn't say school teachers, but you know that's exactly where your mind goes when you read the word educators. You don't think of colleges and universities, those are professors and researchers, primary and secondary education is what you think of when you see the word educators.
Fourth thing, the sentence ends with such a broad scope statement that the author hasn't actually stated anything. Using large words like Evolutionary Worldview is ridiculous in the first place, and finishing up by saying that Educators (school teachers) and (so called non existent) experts say that kids who don't believe in evolution will never understand the world around them is just rude. There are MANY Christians scientists in the world who believe in God, believe in creation, and are still amazing scientists and understand the world around them. This is an easily provable fact, so why would anyone in the scientific and education community state otherwise? By including the word educators in there, the author is putting doubt in your head about all of the teachers in public schools for now good reason.
Fifth thing and we are finally onto the second sentence. "Many say that..." is the authors way of saying something without actually saying it. It is the same thing as a child saying "oh poopy" instead of saying "oh shit" because they think they wont get in any trouble because they didn't actually say the bad word. By using that phrase right there, the author knows that your brain will automatically fill in that they are talking about Educators (school teachers) and (so called non existent) experts without actually having to say it. Using the word "such" in that sentence does the exact same thing, your brain translates that to "children who reject evolution." The author is making yet another very broad statement, that is in no way provable, and just allowing you to keep making assumptions based off the first sentence.
Sixth is the entire last sentence it does everything that I complained about in both issues four and five. The whole thing is yet another ridiculous sentence that is based on nothing, with no provable facts, but also has very little chance of being actually proven wrong. Sure there may be a few people out there who believe it, but this whole paragraph is written to make you think that ALL Educators (school teachers) and (so called non existent) experts believe that, and that's just simply not true.
Once I got to that point in the article I just stopped reading. Having it all worded that way means that this entire article is going to be based on assumptions and person beliefs with no real facts or sources to back up what the author is saying. So why read something when all of it is literally one persons opinion on the subject that's being passed off as truth. Sure, it may be the truth in their minds, and maybe even the minds of most Christians, but that doesn't mean that it actually IS the truth.
My problem is that this article is from a very prominent website for Conservative Christians, which means it gets read millions of times a day by people all over the world. You would think as Christians that they would hold themselves accountable to a higher standard than this. You would think that, but you would be wrong. It's not just this website either, I see this all over secular news, liberal news, conservative news, entertainment news, sports news, and so on. People writing opinion pieces, with no actual facts or sources to back up their statements, and turning around and passing them off as fact and truth. I'm not saying the article is wrong or right about what it says, that is up to you to decide on your own. What I am saying though is that regardless whether they are write or wrong I will not be finishing the article and I am encouraging you not to as well. If we allow this kind of manipulation and disregard for truth to continue on, then we are becoming no better than North Korea where they have no choice but to believe what they are told.
We as humans are smart and wondrous creatures who shouldn't need someone else to tell us what to believe. We should be angry any time we read an article that treats us in the way this article treated its readers. You are not dumb, you do not need to be lied to, you do not need to have the article purposefully lead you into believing what they do without actually giving you all the facts. For an article about brainwashing, they sure did a good job of it themselves in just 3 sentences. Now like I said, I see this type of article writing on ALL sides of EVERY subject. So please, do not come at me saying that I am attacking Christianity, because I AM NOT!
"Educators and other “experts” who embrace evolution declare that children taught to reject an evolutionary worldview will never understand the world around them. Many say that such children will be academic failures. Children will grow up to be unproductive citizens of the modern world, these experts warn, if they do not accept molecules-to-man evolution over millions of years as fact."
First thing that bothers me right off the bat is the quotation marks around the word experts. Do you know why people do that? It is because you have been trained your whole like to believe that anytime you see quotations in that situation your brain automatically fills in the words "So called". So by seeing the quotations around the word experts, your brain reads that as, "Educators and so called experts who embrace evolution..." and that's not fair. The author has not only quoted something without proof, they have now immediately discredited anyone who is an expert and believes in evolution.
Second thing to go along with the first, using the word embrace to describe the non existent experts attachment to the theory of evolution. By wording it that way to people who are already on the side of the author, you are further discrediting that expert, who doesn't actually exist, by planting the image that they are anti creationism. The Author might as well have put the word embrace in all capital letters so as not to hide their disgust.
Third thing and I'm still in the first sentence, they started the whole paragraph off with the word Educators and it has no business being in this article what so ever. By starting the sentence off with the word Educators, and then putting quotations around the word experts, the author has just lumped all secular school teachers in with the authors non existent experts as the bad guy. Now yes, the author used the word educators and didn't say school teachers, but you know that's exactly where your mind goes when you read the word educators. You don't think of colleges and universities, those are professors and researchers, primary and secondary education is what you think of when you see the word educators.
Fourth thing, the sentence ends with such a broad scope statement that the author hasn't actually stated anything. Using large words like Evolutionary Worldview is ridiculous in the first place, and finishing up by saying that Educators (school teachers) and (so called non existent) experts say that kids who don't believe in evolution will never understand the world around them is just rude. There are MANY Christians scientists in the world who believe in God, believe in creation, and are still amazing scientists and understand the world around them. This is an easily provable fact, so why would anyone in the scientific and education community state otherwise? By including the word educators in there, the author is putting doubt in your head about all of the teachers in public schools for now good reason.
Fifth thing and we are finally onto the second sentence. "Many say that..." is the authors way of saying something without actually saying it. It is the same thing as a child saying "oh poopy" instead of saying "oh shit" because they think they wont get in any trouble because they didn't actually say the bad word. By using that phrase right there, the author knows that your brain will automatically fill in that they are talking about Educators (school teachers) and (so called non existent) experts without actually having to say it. Using the word "such" in that sentence does the exact same thing, your brain translates that to "children who reject evolution." The author is making yet another very broad statement, that is in no way provable, and just allowing you to keep making assumptions based off the first sentence.
Sixth is the entire last sentence it does everything that I complained about in both issues four and five. The whole thing is yet another ridiculous sentence that is based on nothing, with no provable facts, but also has very little chance of being actually proven wrong. Sure there may be a few people out there who believe it, but this whole paragraph is written to make you think that ALL Educators (school teachers) and (so called non existent) experts believe that, and that's just simply not true.
Once I got to that point in the article I just stopped reading. Having it all worded that way means that this entire article is going to be based on assumptions and person beliefs with no real facts or sources to back up what the author is saying. So why read something when all of it is literally one persons opinion on the subject that's being passed off as truth. Sure, it may be the truth in their minds, and maybe even the minds of most Christians, but that doesn't mean that it actually IS the truth.
My problem is that this article is from a very prominent website for Conservative Christians, which means it gets read millions of times a day by people all over the world. You would think as Christians that they would hold themselves accountable to a higher standard than this. You would think that, but you would be wrong. It's not just this website either, I see this all over secular news, liberal news, conservative news, entertainment news, sports news, and so on. People writing opinion pieces, with no actual facts or sources to back up their statements, and turning around and passing them off as fact and truth. I'm not saying the article is wrong or right about what it says, that is up to you to decide on your own. What I am saying though is that regardless whether they are write or wrong I will not be finishing the article and I am encouraging you not to as well. If we allow this kind of manipulation and disregard for truth to continue on, then we are becoming no better than North Korea where they have no choice but to believe what they are told.
We as humans are smart and wondrous creatures who shouldn't need someone else to tell us what to believe. We should be angry any time we read an article that treats us in the way this article treated its readers. You are not dumb, you do not need to be lied to, you do not need to have the article purposefully lead you into believing what they do without actually giving you all the facts. For an article about brainwashing, they sure did a good job of it themselves in just 3 sentences. Now like I said, I see this type of article writing on ALL sides of EVERY subject. So please, do not come at me saying that I am attacking Christianity, because I AM NOT!
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