Motivated Reasoning

Most of of us have tried to explain our rationale for political or religious beliefs to others and have experienced frustration when our thoughtful logic was rejected.  How could anyone with half-a-brain not agree with our position?

Have you wondered when an important vote occurs on the Supreme Court, we know the results before the decision is announced;  four to four (while there is a vacancy on the court).  All eight justices have Ivy league law degrees, have impressive careers in lower courts and have been vetted by Congress.  Each justice has a well thought out reason for his/her position but the position on the issue seems to come before the  analysis.  Are half of the justices smarter than the other half?  What is going on?

After the presidential debates, I switched between Fox News and

CNN News.  I have doubts they watched the same debates.

I know you understand what is going  on as well as I do.  We develop deep-seated beliefs and values and then filter information so that it either fits our beliefs/values or we question the validity of the information.  I recently heard a term that describes this - Motivated Reasoning.

My question is how can we put aside our beliefs/values to listen critically to new information - without feeling our gut twist?

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

State Fair - 2016

Before we moved to Carolina Preserve, Aloma and I visited our daughter in Raleigh and went to the North Carolina State Fair.  We enjoyed it so after our move here, I asked Aloma if she wanted to go again.  She declined.  “Once is enough.”

This is my third year that I’ve gone alone.  I walked most of the Fair, enjoyed watching people, especially families, looked at the exhibits and watched the judging of Black Angus cows.  There didn’t seem to be as many animals this year.  Maybe I was there on the wrong day or maybe the floods affected the farmers and ranchers?  I saw very few chickens and ducks.  I did watch the cow milking instructions but declined to stand in line to try it.  When I was young, a man showed me how to milk a cow, but when I tugged on an udder, nothing happened.  I noticed the largest squash was 1,090 pounds.

The food concessions never change.  Every flora and fauna that starts with the letter A to Z is fried, slathered with sauce or heaped with sugar.  Most people walking around were eating.  I did buy ice cream churned by a John Deere engine and sat and listened to some gospel music.  The ice cream was pricey but worth it because John Deere engines make it better.

When I was younger, I piloted a glider for several years.  Heights from an airplane don’t bother me.  But when I get on any ride in an amusement park, my stomach rolls.  I decided to ride the skyway, like a ski lift, across the Fair.  I was terrified.  Every time it would stop or pass a tower, I thought I was falling.  I’m glad I forced myself to ride on it and am glad that I will never do it again.

Will I go to the State Fair next year?  You bet!  It’s a tradition.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com

Black and White Tires Matter

While coming home from Costco last week, my wife and I noticed a police car stopped by the side of the road with its lights flashing.  “Some poor soul got pulled over for speeding,” I said to Aloma.  As we passed the car and looked closer, I couldn’t have been more wrong.  A policeman was on his knees changing a tire for a man and woman who stood watching.

We were both amazed and pleased.  “The only thing that could have made it better,” I said to Aloma, “would be for the policeman to be changing a black person’s tire.”  We both doubted that would happen.

Two days later I was driving on Highway 55 and noticed another Cary police car with a stopped car.  I looked closely.  The policeman was changing another tire.  This time a black couple with a child were watching the white policeman change their tire.

After all of the news reports describing how evil the police are, this scene gave me a great feeling.  I started to turn around and take a photo of the scene and send it to a newspaper.  Then I realized it would never be printed.  It would not fit the agenda of today’s press.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com