The ludicrous tales that I’ve heard from family members over the years could fill volumes. I’ve heard what are supposed to be firsthand accounts of ghost stories, stories of seeing wild animals that are not known to exist in Tennessee, dramatic fistfights and an array of stories of narrowly escaping possible deaths from gunshots, race cars and yes, more wild animals. I am not saying all of these stories are total lies, just that most of them are total lies. And this, tragically, is the well of influence where much political opinion is developed.
Probably half the political discussions I have route directly back to what the person’s parents believe. After the health care reform bill passed in the House last week, one of the first things I heard the next morning was how angry a friend’s father was. She also disagreed with the bill, but her opinion was secondary to her father’s anger. I’ll go out on a limb and guess that had her father not had a strong political opinion, neither would she.
This is the way we think as a people, and it’s not always bad. Family influence is vital. It’s only bad when your family spouts baseless information and you follow along like a trained seal that refuses to question anything. And it’s not as if there isn’t easy access to verify bad information. Most people I know have access to the Internet, so there’s no excuse for thinking that the health care bill creates death panels. There’s no excuse for thinking that Obama is a Muslim, or that he’s going to take your guns away, or that he’s not an American citizen. Unless, of course, all your sources are also bunk. If you spend time reading and watching opinion news that only confirms your beliefs, then you are dooming yourself to your own ignorance.
How many times does a rumor or opinion have to be told before it becomes fact to millions? “The Daily Show” recently aired a clip of various Fox News analysts chirping the same line over and over, that the democrats were trying to “cram the health care bill” down people’s throats. Then Fox News interviewed a couple of random conservatives who spouted the exact same line. Conservatives are total marketing gurus. It takes talent to encapsulate health care reform into a simple slogan or idea with no real meaning behind it and to have people passionately spouting it as a form of protest.
The reason opinions are formed so casually, and the reason word-of-mouth is so influential, is because it’s easy. It’s easy to just listen to what your parents or friends say and follow along. It’s easy to listen to what the No. 2 cable network has to say and follow along without any other research. You feel like you’re truly part of something when you’re aligned with your family and other people in protest. This type of passion is not out of true concern. It’s about identity and belonging. It’s the same reason people join the Ku Klux Klan and The Friday Night Knitting Club.
