It has been disheartening to watch friends loudly pronounce “facts” that are misleading or untruthful because they saw it somewhere online. We blindly follow groups of people and we state their truth because it’s similar to ours without considering their motivation and end game.

Discussions regarding racial justice, historical preservation, equal rights, fair taxation, healthcare, employment, minority empowerment, religious authority, commerce and constitutional interpretation are all honorable debates. They have been part of a healthy dialogue for centuries but when wars are started over them, you can bet that it’s not for their advancement. It is about power and profit that only a select few will benefit from.

Education doesn’t guarantee agreement but it does strengthen our ability to appreciate what makes governments and social structures work. It spurs debate, empowers citizenry and enables reconciliation.

The polar right and left are blinding us to reality. Without truth there is no law, no justice, no government, no education. A land without those things does not serve us, it makes someone else rich and powerful. We follow along on someone else’s path thinking that it is our own. The only way to make our own decisions and fight our own wars is through knowledge and education. Media talking points are not education. Social media is not where we find truth. Both are being manipulated by people with sinister agendas and we’re falling for it hook, line and sinker. We are being pitted against each other and we are the dogs being wagged.