Keeping Sane in Troubled Times
Be aware that truth, decency and moderation are under attack. Stand firm on your values, defend what is vulnerable, insist on the distinction between truth and lies, but avoid shouting insults at people that you do not agree with.
We do not have to hate, but we cannot compromise with those who fan the flames of hate. We should accept that there are situations where no common ground can be found.
Don’t fall for two-side-ism. What would be the other side of science? Pseudo-science? Non-science? What would be the other side of reliable information? Propaganda? Fake news?
Recognize the pied pipers: wellness influencers who want to sell us their food supplements, gurus who want to recruit us to their workshops and their cults, social media enterpreneurs who want to captivate our attention with their clickbait, dissident scientists who are willing to mislead us for money or for media attention, alt-right provocateurs who have lost all faith in our democratic institutions and who seduce us into joining them in their distrust.
Check your sources. Before reading or watching a piece of political news, check whether the source is trustworthy. Try to build a repository of sources that you consider reliable and journalists that you trust. Never share links to sources that you yourself do not fully trust.
It takes a lot of time, effort and talent to become a true expert in anything, so our true experts (scientists, doctors, epidemiolists, virologists) deserve our respect. Do not over-estimate your own expert knowledge. Do not criticize our experts unless you are yourself an expert in the same field. Never undermine the public trust in them.
If you express an opinion in public and it gets liked by fascists, it may be time to reconsider. Same if you find yourself in a political rally for “freedom” and you discover that you are marching along with the extreme right.
Many people are deluded, for they have become victims of fake news and propaganda. Conspiracy thinkers never think of themselves that way. Cult members never agree they are in a cult. Therefore, for your own peace of mind, you have to accept that they are beyond the reach of your arguments.
The labels left-of-center and right-of-center have lost most of their meaning, as have the labels radical-left and extreme-right. In applying those labels, be aware that the Overton window has shifted considerably to the right. What people label as radical-left these days used to be called moderate in the sane old days of restraint and moderation.
Don’t be deluded by talk of love and light, for it does not distinguish the zealots from the moderates. Zealots keep singing their pious songs of love and light while tying you to the stake, so that is how you recognize them. For making true distinctions among people, we should pay attention to what they do, not what they say.
Pushing back at obvious nonsense may get you censored for “lack of respect.” Wear the reproach as a badge of honour. People deserve our respect whatever their views, but it is also true that nonsense deserves to be called nonsense. Conversely, we should welcome others for calling us out on our nonsense.
Everything is being turned around. The tolerant are being accused of intolerance by the intolerant. The intolerant demand tolerance for their own and intolerance for those who disagree with them. Those who undermine our democratic institutions are accusing the other side of dishonesty and voter fraud.
Tune in to the sane voices, for they can protect you from going mad. For politics in the US, I read Heather Cox Richardson and Noam Chomsky and Robert Reich, I watch Trevor Noah and I follow Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Your choices may be different, but please look for sanity.
Align with groups that are open to what science is teaching us about the state of the planet, even if their message is bleak. I align with Extinction Rebellion and with Deep Adaptation. Your choices may be different, but please look for honesty.
Support reliable sources of information, both with your attention and with your money. I donate to Wikipedia and The Guardian, and I subscribe to several Dutch news outlets. We should be willing to pay for reliable information and for serious journalism.
People who are using the label Mainstream Media or MSM as a sneer have been brainwashed. Surely, there is bias everywhere and serious journalism sometimes has it wrong. But there is simply no alternative for the serious press. The non-serious press? Videos on YouTube? Are you kidding?
Take time every day to be still and enjoy just being here, and to smile at the people around you. Mother Earth, our beautiful planet, is ailing because of what humanity is doing to her, but the best way to honour her is by expressing our gratitude. “Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)
Do not argue with fools. Don’t call them fools. Avoid. Period.