Author: kyyote

Recently the term Fake News has come to be used to describe news on a sliding scale, at one end a story that has no connection to reality and at the other end simply blowing up something that might be based in truth from the mole hill to mountain status.  The use of the term is new but the fake news has been around forever.  Without doing any research, just off of the top of my head here are some examples.  The Onion in here on the internet, and there are sites that allow individuals to create their own fake news in a way that makes it look real.  But, Mad magazine and the National Lampoon were doing that when I was young and I’m an old man.  Lots of amusement places had the fake Front Page of a newspaper in the old days that you put your name and picture on.  On the other end of the spectrum, the basis in truth but hyped up to give it undue weight, which is always the subject of much debate as one man’s “no big deal” is another man’s “this is huge!” has been around since cave paintings.

But, I told you I had news for you.  I had better qualify that.  Maybe you already know, but for the many out there that don’t this is for you.  Media is fake.  All of it.  All of it, you ask?  Every bit.  Orson Wells used radio when he broadcast his fake news, War of the Worlds, which had people committing suicide rather than submit to an alien invasion.  Wally and Beaver, June and Ward were fake.  The family was fake.  The problems were fake.  And looking back, you see quite easily the social agenda being presented.  The medium was new, and subtlety was not a strong suit.  Well… actually that was a strong suit, too. Remember when Archie Bunker was cutting edge? We could spend all day naming them and what they were promoting.  You see, all media gives you things from a perspective, and with a purpose.  It is in those two that the producers do their work. It is what the consumers demand.  It is what allows the producers the capital to produce.

As for news, I love when the “news” media tells you have to be careful in avoiding fake news.  And the way they do it is jaw dropping.  Dan Rather, who had to resign because of his not accidental fake news is out warning about fake news.  Where would you find real news?  Let me simplify.  Let’s take it to Thanksgiving Dinner at your place.  Ask each family member to write a report on the meal and they will all be different. Perspective and agenda will come into play.  “Real news” is like “the truth”.

So, everything you see, hear, read, whatever is “fake”.  The truth is what you call the truth, and real will be what you call real.  What you can do is look for the perspective and agenda.  When you identify that, you can at least make adjustments on the weight you give it.  The same as with the families’ reports on dinner, there will be some that you can see clearly the two factors showing and maybe others where you can find little.  You know who shoots pretty straight.  Pretty straight.  We are all human.

Finally, you are the other half of the circuit.  Your desire to seek the real news or the truth will be filtered.  You will filter it the way you filter, too.  Perspective and agenda will be one filter you use.  At dinner, after many dinners, Aunt Edie has shown to be untrustworthy-according to your perspectives and agendas over the years.  Her son Eddie’s opinion of Edie is much different.  Each of you will filter Edie differently.  So, the more you can identify your own perspectives and agendas the more you can properly filter things on your end.

Good luck.  It is harder to question than to just sit back and take at face value, but life is kind of like that.

I must admit that I don’t find the question to be simple. I will continue to think on it, but I also realize that I will always be limited in my thinking. I would like to point out a couple of things. Number one, I personally have experience and it was an experience like no other in my life, and I have not figured it out in my mind. Two, anyone and everyone is entitled to have an opinion and voice it, but three. I would suggest that most women would weigh appropriately men’s opinions about natural childbirth procedures and their efficacy as opposed to women’s and more importantly, women with experience’s opinions. Number four, please keep in mind that if a man were to be very loudly vocal about his opinions in the example above he might know more about it than you mothers, or he might think he knows more about it than you mothers.

My experience was during a time of war, and I was drafted.  So, my experience is different than today’s all volunteer services.  It was also about half a century ago, and things change with time.  Not all things.  The reason for our military hasn’t changed, but the use of it to enact social change has.

Some will say that this is a flat out denial o one’s right to fight for the country they love.  I call bullshit on that one.  If the country was being invaded and overwhelmed, I doubt very much if the question would come up.  All hands on deck means all hands.  But, in a time when the military has more people wishing to serve than there is call for, the military has some discretion in whom it allows to serve.  So, the situation we are in has something to do with it.  I think almost everyone would agree that in the right situation, or should I say a dire situation that no one would be too concerned if a person was sixteen or seventeen, if they could keep us from losing our way of life, or country.  But, that it also a recognition that there is a sliding scale.  Jake Matlala was a 4 time world champion boxer, but would have been considered to short to serve at just under four feet ten inches.  No soldier anywhere near his size would have been able to beat him at fighting.  Oh, and George Foreman was too old to enlist because old guys can’t withstand the rigors of physical combat.  Right!?  Of course there are exceptions, but they have the ability during this period in time to be somewhat selective.

The military probably is our society’s most powerful single tool used for change in our history. It forced integration well before the states got things figured out. Recently, it has been used to champion equal rights for women, to I believe our country’s great credit.  The big question at the time was about combat readiness.  Could the military maintain its ability to fight?  The answer has been simply, Yes.  Now, the military, at the time it was thrust upon them argued that it wouldn’t.  It is I believe upon the advice of the military leaders that at this time they believe that transgendered men and women serving is not the best way to go.  So, we know that they can be wrong, and that using the military to change society has been used and can be used to effect social change.

It seems to me that much of the arguments will be from those outside of the military and be geared more toward social change.  Some will be about using resources spent to enact the inclusion of transgendered individuals to be the problem, and some will bring up unit cohesiveness.  My self, I think in the overall scheme of things, in the amounts of money spent by the military that money may not be the biggest problem, and like in the past, arguments about unit cohesiveness may end up being overblown.  Now, remember that I am an outsider, now, so my experience in the past gives me insight that 95% of the population doesn’t have.  I have been in those units.  But, I am an outsider now.  It seems to me that what is left is a question of whether or not you believe the military should be used at this time for social change.  Maybe in this case, this social change.  There I am right back at the start.  Would you let your daughter shower with a biological male who identifies as a woman?  What if your daughter wasn’t a Marine, but a 10 year old Girl Scout at the public pool?  What if your son is the male who identifies as a female?  Should she be sent to shower with the other males?  Should there just be no Men’s or Women’s restrooms in the Marines?  How about just open stalls and showers at the public pool?  Those of you who have it all figured out are ahead of me.  I still have questions.

Sometimes the simple ones are tough for me.