In the last two years, I have been reminded how easy I fall for the NARRATIVE. Simultaneously, I have observed how difficult it is to search out NUANCE. Between covid, vaccines, racial unrest, insurrections, inflation, and war – the world is not lacking for Narrative. Lately, I have started to wonder why the Narrative is so prevalent. The new reality is that corporate media is working to meet revenue goals, not uncover the truth. I am not a moralist, so to me, the debate of whether this 21st-century media is right or wrong is actually just another diversion from the real question. The key questions are: (1) Are you observant enough to see through the Narrative? (2) Are you honest enough about your own bias to search for the Nuance?
Buying into the Narrative feels good. It confirms your beliefs. It doesn’t require any actual work. It is the mental equivalent of “belling up to the bar”. You simply tune into your news trough of choice and consume. These outlets serve up heaps of negativity and outrage that simply confirm to your current position. Your brain is washed with dopamine as you are fed a steady stream of your favorite political narrative. Please don’t hear me judging this phenomenon, and I love the all-you-can-eat buffet as much as the next guy. But it is our lack of awareness that ignites the over-indulgence of the narrative that keeps us locked in destructive patterns and cripples our growth.
Growth is hard, and growth requires effort in today’s polarized media ecosystem. To evolve our beliefs and inform our perspective, we will have to search out nuance. It will no longer be delivered automatically. Our society will no longer simply provide “neutral” positions. The corporate media is no longer interested in “truth” but in transactions. They have a target audience to placate, thus ensuring financial outcomes. The only way to overcome the cascade of the narrative is to search for nuance.
Transparently, I have been guilty of following the narrative. I have caught myself over the past months being hypnotized by the narrative. I only followed people on Twitter who believed the same things I did. I consumed media that supported my political views. I found myself ignoring or dismissing data points that challenged my own beliefs. In hindsight, I realized I was just being intellectually lazy.
So, here are signals I use to alert myself that I am being hypnotized by the narrative:
1. I listen to my emotions for red flags. If I become angry, agitated, or irritated by a pollical stance – I take note because I have now lost my ability to be rational.
2. Conversely, if I find myself feeling oddly comforted by a steady stream of one side of the argument – I have lost my perspective.
3. If I find myself judging a person poorly who has differing views than me – merely based on the fact that they have different views. I discount them. I dismiss them. This passive-aggressive shunning means I have bought the narrative.
Now, once I have alerted myself to the reality that I have been seduced by the NARRATIVE, here are the steps I take to actively search for the NUANCE.
1. I read the news, versus watching it. The reality is that seeing something has a different effect on my perspective.
2. I find three sources from across the media landscape and see what they are saying.
3. I pay close attention if I feel that people are trying to shame me into an agreement.
4. I dig deeper if I feel that people are trying to eliminate a conversation based on a feeling.
5. If an idea, belief, or story is called “disinformation” or “misinformation” I put in the work to confirm the statements. I use these terms as a red flag. And, the more outlets that claim a belief to be “misinformation” the more suspicious I become. Especially if the outlets promoting the narrative all have the same political leanings.
The days of just turning on the evening news or opening the paper and just “trusting” it to be accurate are gone. Unbiased news coverage has gone the way of the payphone and fax machine. Technology has made so many areas of our lives much easier and reduced our workload. In an ironic twist, we have to be aware that modern media is now requiring we use some of this extra energy not needed for many of our day-to-day tasks to be used to search for NUANCE. We must realize that we must re-allocate some of our energy to the search for NUANCE. It will be the most important work we do.