Undoctrination.org

There was an unfortunate shooting incident in Tucson, Arizona just the other day. A Congresswoman was shot in the head and her life is hanging by a thread. In the process, several people were wounded, and a few others were killed, including a nine year old girl who wanted to meet the Congresswoman to learn more about government, since she was newly elected to her school’s council (or some such thing), and an aide to the Congresswoman. Quick thinking by others probably saved the Congresswoman from immediate death. Acts of courage and fast action were the underscored story of the incident. I chose to not mention the shooter’s name in this column – I don’t believe he deserves the recognition. And out of respect to the other victims, I’m not naming their names, either. If you need further data, I suggest you turn on a TV or log on to a news site and you’ll learn as much as you ever cared to about this dark day in Tucson, Arizona.

 Almost immediately following the senseless shooting, several bloggers rose up from their mother’s basements, put on a clean(er) set of jammies, and began a diatribe on how Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, the TEA Party, and all things “conservatives” drove this shooter to carry out his deed. Hanoi Jane Fonda barked out accusations of the same. Newspapers – once regarded as the beacon of impartial journalism- spewed forth musings of how the vitriol of the Right had created this climate of hate and violence. At least one of these fools actually made the claim that the shooter’s time in Afghanistan caused his violent tendencies … and the shooter was never in the military … Some TV talking heads speculated on how the Palin “crosshairs ad” motivated the shooter to pull the trigger … over and over again. Buried deep in the stories, the papers and even a few of the bloggers made sure they had added a caveat to protect themselves from slander and libel suits, since there was no proof at all in their claims. But they accomplished their goal, because “facebook” and other social sites users began “sharing” these lies as truth.

What has happened, campers, is that the “critical thought” process has left the building. Knee jerk reactionaries and vapid libtards have commandeered the media and are trying to force feed erroneous information to you, molded to their agenda – and a few of you are actually taking the bait, passing along the ridiculous as truth when it’s really nothing more than the regurgitation of falsehoods. The media will indoctrinate us as best they can – slowly molding our thought processes to a point where we no longer fire off the synapses that allow us to think for ourselves.

So – we need to use our critical thinking skills more and more every day. This is one definition of “critical thinking:

”Critical thinking is the identification and evaluation of evidence to guide decision making. A critical thinker uses broad in-depth analysis of evidence to make decisions and communicate his/her beliefs clearly and accurately.”

It’s really not that difficult to read something, digest the information, and then perhaps even double check what you’ve read against an opposing view to establish your OWN opinion or conclusion to a particular story.

Here are some FACTS about the shooter in Tucson:

He was not a member of the TEA Party. He was actually a volunteer for the Democratic Congresswoman’s campaign – and was embittered by a vote she had cast (against Nancy Pelosi, who he happens to think is the best thing since sliced bread). Hardly TEA Party material…In fact, he had written that “she” was “dead” to him because of this perceived traitorous vote.

He was not a veteran. The Army rejected him, most likely because he was a vocal homosexual and when he tried to enlist, the “Don’t Ask – Don’t Tell” rules were still in play, making it impossibly for an openly gay to serve in the military.

He claimed his favorite books included “Mein Kampf” and the “Communist Manifesto.” Now, I rather doubt he actually read either – but hey, it looks “cool” to list controversial writings such as those when trying to establish an identity as a “radical.” I’d wager that he might even own a t-shirt with the image of mass murderer Che Guevera plastered on the front…

So after reading these incredibly baseless posts, I went to work.

 I mentioned to one clueless liberal who was posting several anti-Palin screeds that the shooter was perhaps no more than dangerously delusional, like the idiot who shot John Lennon. I mentioned to another that the shooter never spent any time in the military, so I was curious to learn more about his actions in Afghanistan. I sent an article that highlighted an ad done – in Arizona – by a Democrat that showed a “crosshairs” site on the image of his Republican challenger, asking if that might have been motivation as well, since she was so convinced the Palin ad had driven the shooter over the edge. One useful idiot posted a cry for GUN CONTROL!  But when I pointed out that the shooter had passed the FBI background check, and asked what exactly the poster had in mind when calling for “GUN CONTROL,” I got no response (it might have been my comment that the Second Amendment is still in place). I mentioned to yet another that I’ve heard more public outcry over the actual event from conservatives than from liberals – and asked for an explanation.  Was it because the liberals were so intent on making this a political issue? Within minutes, all had removed their posts and all comments, pretending they never touched on the topic. But sadly, none of them responded to my queries, or even thanked me for pointing out the truth, so it stands to reason that although the hysteria may have died down some, it surely isn’t gone by a long shot. Next incident, there will be more of the same. Count on it.

It’s more important than EVER to use your critical thinking skills, regardless of your reading/viewing habits. Conservative blogs and talking heads can be just as outrageous with their claims as liberals. BOTH have an agenda to promote. The key is to see through the agenda and come to your own conclusions.

When you’ve done this successfully, you’ve created a new freedom within yourself – you no longer allow the indoctrination of your belief system by those who want to pull you along towards their vision of order.  In fact, the more of us who actually use our critical thinking skills – the more scared “they” become of “us.”

And that is a very good place to be.