It's About Trust (An open letter to my granddaughter.)

Sophistry is the academic term for spin. It is an assertion that is harmonious with certain facts, or at least some facts, that leads one away from the truth. When Sarah Palin said, "Obama palls around with terrorists,"- and cited the fact that Obama served on a board of directors with Bill Ayers, that is an example of sophistry. The implication is that Obama is sympathetic with terrorists, an opinion that is unfounded when one looks at all the facts. Spin or sophistry uses characterization, interpretation, implication and partial facts to manipulate what a person infers. The uncritical listener accepts sophistry at face value--it's easy to be fooled because it is crafted to appear well grounded, but it creates a wrong perception, it does not reveal truth.

By doing critical thinking as we follow the political campaign we can assess what information is credible, what is not.  The credibility of the assertions reveals the trustworthiness of the source. When something is packed with words of characterization, is thin on objective fact, a critical thinker is skeptical. When it leads to a shocking or prejudicial conclusion our "smear"- alarm bells go off. We say it doesn't pass the "sniff"- test. We are prompted to dig deeper looking for the spin. If it proves to be misleading, we should distrust the source.

If you want to know whom to trust, deconstruct the assertions of each campaign as they reflect on the speaker. Attack ads often say more about the one who approves them than they do about the one who is attacked. Test their truthfulness. This is called exercising prudence. Who is being up-front and honest with you? Whose assertions are grounded well? Whose are distortions?

Granddaughter, by your own critical assessment of all the words, deeds, and images, you will find that one candidate will have earned the most trust on Election Day.

In my view the most trustworthy is Barack Obama. Notwithstanding any political beliefs, any traditional orthodoxy I may cherish about Republicans or Democrats, Obama is the most credible. But don't just accept my assertion, be a critical thinker. Decide for yourself.