How Writers Can Work to Overcome the Media’s Malicious Ignorance Programming

Help me keep saying the thing that need to be said. I appreciate you! Upgrade at 30% off!One of a writer’s main objectives is to seek out inspiration. Writing tends to be a solitary experience that attracts introverts. There have been periods in my life where I spent most of my time alone. Until recently, collaboration never played much of a role in my work.The problem with studying alone is that you interpret everything through the lens of your own physical reality. No matter how well-rounded or well-educated an individual you are, you influence your reality through observation. All writers must refine their inspiration by processing their discoveries with alternate perspectives.For example, as a man, I don’t have direct experience with how the world treats women. My race, sexual orientation, even my physical size has a dramatic impact on how I see the world. These preset conditions effectively prevent me from perceiving large swaths of the complete tapestry of the human experience.If I truly want to understand the human experience, I’m obligated to gather up critical information from other sources. Reading is a good place to start but it isn’t enough. Even when reading, you impose your own viewpoint on the interpretation of words. To really understand alternate perspectives, you have to experience them. One of the best ways to do that is by having conversations.The essential responsibility of writersI grew up in a rural community that was mistrustful of education. The pervasive belief was that if you weren’t on the basketball team, you were essentially wasting your life. Because I was surrounded by that mindset, I developed a mechanism to block out unfair criticisms. An unexpected consequence of that mechanism was that I became reluctant to collaborate.Lately, I’ve been deliberately working to overcome that tendency. I’ve been reaching out to fellow creators and other accomplished people for exploratory conversations. I’ve been doing this for about six months, and the results have been extremely gratifying.I’ve always felt that writers have an essential obligation to help lift each other up. My first way of doing this was through reviewing independently published books. That was convenient because it fit in with my inclination for solitary activity. Book reviews are a way to elevate other creatives without ever having to leave your comfort zone.But these days, my platform has grown large enough where I can reach out to writers directly. I’ve also expanded beyond writers to converse with a variety of experts. What I’ve discovered is that we’re surrounded by a wealth of untapped knowledge.You are surrounded by accomplished peopleDigital devices and social media have compartmentalized us to the point where we’ve forgotten we’re surrounded by experts. We’ve become conditioned to get all of our information from the same handful of talking heads that are prominently featured on every media outlet.The fact of the matter is, there are real people in your social circle that know more about what’s going on in the world than the people on television ever will.If you turn off your media, put down your cell phone, and reach out to the respected professionals in your community, it’s stunning what you will learn.Talking with a retired nuclear engineerOne of the people I interviewed recently was Robert Danna. Danna is a retired nuclear engineer and the author of My Curious Life. He reached out to me because he was frustrated by inaccuracies he’d seen in the reporting on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.I think we’ve all felt the frustration that comes from witnessing a butchered news report on some topic where we happen to have professional experience. I often find myself screaming back at the television as if that’s going to do anything. The problem is we don’t know how often mainstream media gets things wrong because none of us has professional experience in all fields.Almost every expert I meet mentions the common ways their field is misrepresented.The hour long conversation I had with Danna was illuminating. The conversation illustrated how frustrating and socially irresponsible it is for established media personalities to spread inaccurate information.“When was the last time you saw a news show actually bring on an expert?” he asked. While that used to be more common in the past, I realized bringing in experts seems to have fallen out of favor.Maybe the problem is that experts tell the truth.Controlling the narrativeUnfortunately, we live in a society that insists on processing all information through the lens of preapproved media personalities. The reality is that the way our media is currently structured seems to hinder the public’s exposure to accurate information.Rather than access to the truth, the public is only given a narrative.We live in a society where people will read an internet meme and all of a sudden believe that they can speak intelligently about refining Uranium. These are the same people who failed high school chemistry. The reality is that many people become inadvertent tools of spreading misinformation.To a large extent, we’ve eroded our social respect for the word “expert.” I feel as if the whole nation has been transformed into the backwards community where I grew up. It feels like every time I turn on the news, I’m bombarded with inaccurate information. I walk away knowing less than I did when I started.Now stop and consider that we don’t have to live like that. We can make the choice to sit down and listen to experts who know truth rather than narrative. We can leave those conversations challenged, stimulated, and informed rather than indoctrinated.Knowledge is powerThe good news is that there are accomplished people all around you. All you have to do to take advantage of them is make the deliberate choice to get your information straight from the source.The ones I’ve met are eager to talk because they’re tired of seeing false information get distributed to the masses.When I get done with an interview, I generally have to go for a walk to process all the new information that’s just been downloaded into my mind. I’ve never felt like that after watching the media. These conversations are very much the equivalent of sitting through an expensive college course.The good news is that you don’t have to pay for them. You don’t need to get yourself into debt to obtain an education. All you have to do is turn off the news and start interviewing professionals. If you don’t have time to set that up, you can watch mine.An educated population makes good decisionsWhen you think about it, it’s offensive the way our mainstream media has completely failed in its obligation to educate the general public. We have these tremendous technological tools that allow us to inform the population, and we use them to do the exact opposite.One of the fundamental obligations of writers is that they have to peel back the layers of our social narratives in order to get a glimpse of the hidden truth. We should all be out there mining for puzzle pieces that we can combine with the discoveries of our colleagues. It’s only through working together that we can hope to develop an accurate understanding of the larger picture.If we are in the profession of writing, it’s our responsibility to be defenders of the truth. We also must distribute the truth equally to all people, and make it as accessible as possible.But what scares me is that I see too many people within the writing profession who are willing to accept the status quo arguments. They work for the approval of gatekeepers and never stop to consider whether the gatekeepers are worthy of the effort it takes to please them.Understanding removes conflictI’ve been interviewing many of the writers I’ve followed for years. When you know a person through their writing, you develop a mental picture of them. It’s been delightful to see how that mental image aligns with reality. Though it’s often close, I’ve realized my representation is never perfect.Having a conversation always adds to my understanding of a person. It helps me go back and perceive their work in a different light. This greater awareness helps smooth out the illusions of disagreement.We perceive each other’s observations through our own lens, and that lens can add distortion. Misunderstanding, rather than disagreement, is often the cause of conflict. The more we know about each other, the better equipped we are to share valuable information.The truth of expertsThe more we can smooth out the illusion of differences with our allies, the better it is for all humanity. It’s frustrating that this objective doesn’t seem to be shared by the mainstream media. So, we have to take appropriate measures.There’s a tremendous level of knowledge that’s available to us. You need to seek out kernels of inspiration that you can expand into a fully-formed ideology. The only ideologies that endure are the ones that are based on truth. The more truth you have access too, the better your foundations.We are surrounded by accomplished and knowledgeable people. We can benefit from their knowledge both individually, and as a community. By uncovering and sharing the truth of experts, we can expand access to actionable information. This will increase our collective knowledge, and set us on the pathway to a better society.Think about this the next time the media proliferates information that you know to be wrong. Find somebody with a platform, and help to correct the misunderstanding.You all make this newsletter happen! Thanks for your sponsorship! I have payment tiers starting at as little as twenty dollars a year.Upgrade at 30% offUpgrade at 40% offUpgrade at 50% offUpgrade at 60% offI'm so happy you're here, and I'm looking forward to sharing more thoughts with you tomorrow.My CoSchedule referral linkHere’s my referral link to my preferred headline analyzer tool. If you sign up through this, it’s another way to support this newsletter (thank you).I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe