If You Have Not Researched Arguments Disputing A Western Narrative, You Do Not Understand The Issue by Ms Caitlin Johnstone!
(2021-12-27 at 22:37:52 )

If You Have Not Researched Arguments Disputing A Western Narrative, You Do Not Understand The Issue by Ms Caitlin Johnstone!

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Lately when people react with shock and indignation that I would dare to dispute a claim made by the western political-media class about an empire-targeted government, I have taken to simply asking them what reading they have done on the other side of the issue. What are some articles they have read arguing against the official western narrative about that government?

It is a question that can be applied to any disputed western narrative about any government the United States-centralized empire does not like. Russia is engaging in aggressive provocations. Mr. Assad is using chemical weapons. There is a genocide in Xinjiang. Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Mr. Maduro is deliberately starving his people. Whatever is the Official Imperial Line of the Day about the Official Bad Guy of the Day.

What I have found interesting about this exercise is that while I would have correctly predicted that those questioned had done zero research into the opposing viewpoints of the issue they are commenting on, I would probably not have predicted the brazenness with which they will admit it.

Very often they will come right out and express incredulity at the very idea that any such counter-arguments could even exist, skipping right past any pretense that they may have read them or even made any effort to find them.

When they do this, even before I provide them with links to counter-arguments against whatever issue we are discussing, they have already lost the argument.

They have already admitted that they have done no real research into whether or not the western narrative they just swallowed is actually true; they just believed what they were told because someone told them to believe it. They swallowed an imperial narrative about an empire-targeted government with zero gag reflex, just as people did in the lead-up to the Iraq war.

At that point it has been established that, at least as far as the subject under discussion goes, they are no better informed than any average consumer of TV news. Because they have made no effort to find and review arguments and evidence that go against the TV news narrative.

There are always counter-arguments against western criticisms of empire-targeted governments. They are not difficult to find once you have decided you want to find them, as long as you are open to venturing outside your own self-reinforcing echo chamber.

They are not always great arguments. They do not always leave the empire-targeted government in question looking perfectly innocent. And they generally will not be found in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or any other western outlet which consistently protects and promotes western imperialist narratives.

But they are there, and unless you have reviewed their arguments and evidence and given them a good deal of consideration, you are in no position to pretend you know anything about the subject under discussion.

This same principle applies to "conspiracy theories" as well, both for and against. If you have not reviewed the evidence for and against a given theory, then unless it is something that is self-evidently absurd at a casual glance it would be silly and asinine for you to take a confident position on it one way or the other. This also applies to arguments for and against measures that have been implemented and could potentially be implemented in response to Covid-19.

If you have not thoroughly researched the opposite position, you do not understand your own. This is true whether you agree with the official narrative or disagree with it.

Oftentimes people of a certain bent will be biased against the mainstream narrative and select for arguments against it which confirm that bias, even when the mainstream narrative is the better-evidenced one. It cuts both ways.

It is very easy to select a position on an issue which conforms to your ideological preferences and your understanding of the world. It is much harder to sincerely dedicate yourself to finding out whether or not something is true, or whether the truth of the matter is a lot less certain than the talking heads in the western news media are making it seem. But it is the only way you can really have a legitimate position on such matters.

This should be a widespread and common sense understanding, and it is to everyones detriment everywhere that it is not.

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