I gleefully shared a phot0 on Face Book of Manhattan totally covered with demonstrators.
A friend whose politics are on the other side of the spectrum pointed out that it was a photo-shopped fake, based on a take from Google maps. I posted a correction.
I tend to be honest in my dealings, and am therefor easy to fool. It rarely occurs to me that people may be lying.
This small incident reminded me how important it is to seek information from a wide spectrum of perspectives, especially when one feels the advertising-funded mainstream media is no longer a reliable guide to reality.
Yes, social media are a great addition to the mainstream diet. AND it is all too easy to make a lie go viral. Stay awake, beware, and avoid getting stuck in a bubble with no one but like-minded people.
The friend who pointed out that this photo was a fake is a fundamentalist Christian pastor, most definitely not my usual kind of connection.
Ken used to be based in Nakusp, and was an important part of my daughter's life during adolescence.
As far as I know he is sadly convinced that I am doomed to everlasting hell unless I change my mind. I shudder at the thought of his deepest convictions.
Still, there is mutual goodwill there.
Ken and his vibrant wife Cindy are good people, decent to their very bones.
They walk their talk and live their values. The world needs such people.
I believe that humanity is facing a bottleneck in evolution. In order to make it through we need the best from ALL that humanity has ever come up with.
We need the best of science, AND the best from all belief systems and traditions. It will be an interesting ride.....
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