Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Hazards of Going Off Half-Cocked

We're all guilty of misstating the facts from time to time. Most of the time, it's unintentional and the damage is negligible. But sometimes it's blatant and motivated simply by a desire to fit in, to be part of the crowd or at least the conversation. It's a dangerous practice though. Some people make life-changing decisions based on information they hear from what they consider trusted sources and without bothering to research or confirm the information themselves. The ripple effect of false or unverified information can have devastating results.

These are serious times and I think when serious subjects are being bantered about, we should take extra care to do our research and get our facts straight before we state them as such. If you want to reference an event in order to make a point, make sure you know what you're talking about. Having someone tell you such-and-such happened does not necessarily mean it did. The person who told you may have been told by someone else ...who was told by someone else ...we all know how the old game of Post Office went.

Part of the prepper mentality is to always be mining information from a variety of sources. We love to find and share new information. That's one of the things I love most about the prepper movement. I'm just suggesting that we should all take very seriously our responsibility in gathering and sharing information. If you discover something new, check it out before you share it on your blog or in one of the chat forums. Research the information itself, research the source of the information. Make it your mission to prove or disprove the information. Only when you are completely satisfied should you share it.

4 comments:

  1. Do you think that this happens on our chat site HB ? And if so who do you think is doing it? FK

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  2. I think it happens just about everywhere in life, FK. As I said, it is unintentional and without malice most of the time. But I believe that there are so many people on the edge right now that the wrong misinformation falling on the wrong ears at the wrong time could set off a chain of events that would have serious and devastating consequences for many. If a spark is ignited and I believe it will be at some point, I hope it would be for just cause and with plenty of rational thought invested.

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  3. You know I have observed at times there are people on chat that are talking about subjects that I have dealt with and at least have a rough idea of how it works or whats involved. Sometimes I know that they are full of it. When you call them on it usually it causes problems that are not fun to deal with. FK

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  4. Only because I follow you fairly regularly do I comment on this particular subject in this manner;

    The risk of bearing false witness runs rampant when we do not verify our sources. I will leave this search for your edification. I was enlightened by it and hope you will be also.

    It IS a serious matter and bears consideration.

    http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=false+witness&t=KJV

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