It’s Understanding, Not Agreement That Counts
/Just in time for the holidays…
David and I participated in a free Webinar the other day entitled “Productive Conversations Without Confrontation” offered by the News Literacy Project (NLP). I’ve been following NLP for several years now. It’s primarily aimed at teachers and educators with the goal of teaching their students to question rather than blindly accept information they receive. Whether it be left or right-biased cable news stations, opinionated talking heads, newspapers, social media, or the hundreds of other outlets that might potentially supply ‘information’, it can’t be accepted at face value without some scrutiny.
The last time I posted about a News Literacy seminar I attended, I was told it sounded pretty liberal. I don’t believe this is so. It’s not a left or right kind of organization. It provides tools to be news literate. Rather than stating which side is right or wrong, it helps individuals determine for themselves through active research whether what they’re reading or seeing is true or fabricated… an important distinction.
I’ve attended several of these webinars in the past and they’ve always made an impression on me. Like most of us, I suffer from ‘confirmation bias’. If I firmly believe in something, I accept information that confirms my beliefs and automatically reject that which is opposed. This is where misinformation and disinformation come into play. Misinformation occurs when information provided is false, incorrect, inaccurate, or misleading regardless of its intent to deceive. Disinformation is when that same incorrect information is provided with the intention of knowingly and intentionally deceiving others. Trolls and ‘bad actors’ have a habit of doing this.
Hence the reason news literacy is so important. Having the tools, and the motivation, and taking responsibility to check out credible sources, original quotes in context, to utilize non-partisan fact checks, reports, etc. It’s essential to being a literate, well-informed citizen. It’s easy to read something that confirms your own thoughts and biases and just pass it along to others without confirming that’s is true. Consider the source and don’t pass it on if you haven’t taken the time to verify it.
Back to the topic at hand. The goal of the webinar was to engage others who disagree with your views and try to understand why they disagree. Non-confrontational listening is key here and for me, that’s sometimes very hard to do. Lord knows, I have my opinions. I learned that it’s not necessary to convince someone that their views are wrong or that mine are right, but rather that it’s more important to listen and have a civil conversation during which perhaps both parties might learn something about the other, and/or just agree to disagree and that’s okay. And sometimes, it’s just not worth engaging at all. What is there to gain other than bad feelings?
My family and friends adhere to a mixed bag of beliefs and biases, some of which I agree with and some with which I do not agree. Hence, unemotional, substantive conversations are difficult without straining relationships. I plan to make it my goal this holiday season and going forward into the new year to restrain my emotions (a tough job, believe me), be a better listener, and try to understand rather than convince and sometimes, to just keep my mouth shut. Let’s see how that goes.
