Michael1942's Blog

“Readers are leaders”,  as quoted by a national printed material circulation company. Apparently this is lost on many people as many would rather access the continuing flow of TV ads, talk shows and web based information rather than read what is written and compare it to what is being said. Recently I was reading the different takes on the Health care act and its effect, I quickly realized that even the soon to be administrators of this program have not bothered to get the facts and how it would affect their state. If the public continues the trend of not reading everything related to an issue then we are pretty much lost in the shuffle of misinformation and innuendo. The NRA took a segment of time on Sunday to push the same message of fear not unlike the fears of “People of Color”and  other ethnic groups moving  into neighborhoods and work places. I am not against firearm ownership (being one myself) but I am against using scare tactics on issues instead of facts. I am against using the same tactics of misinformation for political gain while the truth goes unspoken. I use the NRA as an example because I was once a member but dissolved that contact when I realized the effect of their disturbing messages reached the level of the gun shows I attend  occasionally. President Obama has been blamed for everything from ammunition shortage to firearms shortage and neither is true. What really happened is the demand for these items exploded when the rumors that the President would take away our firearms when he was running for election, that made the shortage not the then soon to be President. The end game here should be that we all need to expand our sources of information and have a balanced idea of what happening around us. There are hundreds and possibly thousands of organizations, companies and powerful individuals  working to alter our opinions and thinking (remember “1984”?) and we can stop them by giving heed to what is being said and verifying it with information from other sources. Do not allow yourselves to “conned” into poor decisions or inaction. Read!