Media | Neal Lemery

Searching for Truth

By Neal Lemery

(Published in the Tillamook County Pioneer, 12/3/2024)

I keep learning the important lessons of life, again and again. My guardian angel must think I’m a difficult student—certainly a stubborn one.

A recent news story caught my eye and after reading several reports in the media, I thought I was comfortable in my understanding. True to old habits, I jumped to some conclusions and was firm in my views. Yet, I kept reading and came across some other stories and opinions about that story. That new information and those differing viewpoints nudged me into taking another run at my previous conclusions and certain opinions, my version of “Truth”.

Maybe I didn’t have it right. Maybe, just maybe, my take on the story wasn’t as objective, wasn’t as close to the “search for truth” viewpoint that I pride myself in thinking in life. Maybe I was mistaken, misinformed, maybe not seeing the whole picture. Maybe my understanding was biased, slanted, yes, even corrupted by incomplete or faulty thinking and comprehension, and being manipulated by others. Maybe, just maybe, I was wrong.

Ego gets in the way in these situations, and old prejudices and thinking patterns can play a more influential role in my life than I care to admit. Looking at my faults, and my inaccurate and slanted thinking can be humbling, and can show me a side of myself that I find uncomfortable. I am partially a product of my Euro-American heritage, and my experiences as a lifelong rural Oregonian. I need to consider those biases in my thinking processes.

My unease in this process keeps teaching me the lessons of humility and truth-seeking, that I often don’t know the “right answer” and need to keep a skeptical and discerning attitude in a lot of things in life, That’s especially true when I’m not experiencing first hand, the situation in which I am making a judgment call and expressing my (biased) opinions.

In those situations, I’m relying on what other people experienced and thought about, and the information I’m gathering is almost always only a product of other people’s experiences, viewpoints, and prejudices. And, their judgments, and motives to give me a slanted, and often manipulated take on the story. I want to believe what I’m hearing is pure Truth, but it so often is not Truth, but corrupted, slanted, only partially informed opinion, presented to me with the motive of gaining my support and advancing their own political and economic agendas.

I should know better. But too often, I get sucked in, falling for the slanted story, the propaganda, the manipulation, intended or not. I need that grain of salt my aunt would talk about, that healthy dose of skepticism, that very often leads one down the healthier path of a second look, an exploration of what really happened, and viewpoints that come closer to the Pure Truth that I am searching for. And, often not finding, but I can be satisfied that my search, my discernment, my curiosity made a valiant attempt at finding out the whole picture, that all points of view were explored and considered, that I weighed the differing observations and opinions, that I came closer to discovering the Truth of the matter.

My aunt would always caution me to take another person’s observations and opinions “with a grain of salt”. She was a skeptic, and would do her own research, thinking through a situation, continually gathering hard data and differing perspectives. She was one of my rocks, the voice of sensibility and clear thinking. We could disagree, but there were rich and fruitful discussions. She challenged me to do my own research and to speak my own mind.

Some would call this critical thinking, a process of evaluating information and viewpoints, that looks for the whole picture, and all the factors that the observers and commentators relied on in coming to their views. And, that process includes my own experiences in life, my own unique background and biases, and certainly my own learning style and thought processes.

My latest wrestling with what is fact and what is fiction is a good lesson for me. I’ll be taking my own salt shaker with me when I’m thinking about an issue, and developing my own opinion.

12/3/2024

Published in the Tillamook County (Oregon) Pioneer March 9, 2021

by Neal Lemery

When it comes to opinions and ideas, we are both the producers and the consumers.

I’m always looking out for the latest idea, the most interesting cultural experience. “New stuff” takes many forms – local news, some new political development, updates on a friend’s family or business, not to mention a beautiful photo a talented photographer has posted on social media. The list of what piques my interest seems endless. I’m like the house cat with a ball of yarn or a catnip-filled toy.

Most of my interest comes with a new idea of how to look at the world and approaches to challenging problems. Finding a well-written new book, meeting with a good friend or joining in a group discussion gets my juices going. And if the new idea comes from me, I’m more than happy to “market” it to my friends and others who have the same interests.

Like everyone else in this age of social media and digitized information, I’m able to wear both the hat of the producer and and the consumer. The choice is mine. I’m the gatekeeper of my cultural experiences.

While some may bemoan the perceived censorship or manipulation of a snippet of our cultural offerings, each of us is still capable of finding the story, and choosing how we react, and what we do with the new knowledge. If someone wants to cancel my own cultural experience, to act as my censor, they face a daunting, if not impossible task.

I’m drawn to the deep discussion. The op ed page of a great newspaper is like honey in my tea, and I find a deep satisfaction in the well-thought argument, the well-researched point of view. I might even change my mind or have an intellectual growth spurt. The more diverse the opinion, the better. I love the mixing of curious minds.

My coffee table groans with a wide assortment of books and articles on a wide variety of topics. And, it is up to me, not some powerful media mogul, to decide what ideas I’m going to spend my time on. If I am going to be manipulated, what I consume is truly my own choice.

The idea of freedom of speech also includes both the freedom to listen and the responsibility to choose my materials wisely.

I am my own traffic cop in this hectic intersection of ideas, the melting pot of the great American conversation. How I respond to the ideas of others, as well as what I choose to put out into the world, is my choice. We traffic cops have responsibilities, with truth telling and well-reasoned viewpoints being the primary duties we all have to the community.

This marketplace of ideas is at the heart of the American experience. Innovative thoughts and new approaches have always brought about needed change, and has helped us improve our lives and the lives of future generations. The clash of ideas, the often heated discussions, provide the sparks that light the fires in our brains, and bring about a renewed, invigorated society.

If I fall to the toxic atmosphere of fear and intolerance, I’m cutting myself short, and denying myself access to the riches of the marketplace of ideas. I’m neglecting my own duties as the producer and the consumer, and I’m making the community conversation a mere shadow of what it can offer all of us.

Raging against an opinion or perspective that is not your own only serves to suffocate this marketplace, and limit the work of the marketplace in producing new thought and dynamic change. We need to learn to be better listeners. We also need to examine another viewpoint without the limits of our own fears and biases and be the seekers of truth and reason.

If I am the good listener, and an advocate of reason and truth seeking, at the end of the day I might have even learned something, and come closer to helping to solve a problem.

3/8/2021