One thing to consider amidst so much information:
Please know there is no such thing as an unbiased source. Every article, blog post, journalist, news story, coverage, educator, or published work—and myself—will lean in a particular direction.
This can lead to confusion, skepticism, paranoia, or disillusionment. Where do we even go for information?
Here’s the important thing. Rather than looking for “unbiased sources,” which don’t exist, it’s important to detect the bias within every source. It means knowing each one will potentially have gaps, missed angles, and narratives both obvious and hidden. Each source has a lens over it with smudges and smears: we must step back to see them, to see through it.
Some sources can be outright rejected. But of course, we can’t play the skeptic all the time. Being a contrarian with a perpetual raised eyebrow does not equal intelligence. Finding one flaw doesn’t dismiss a whole story. And what looks like a biased source is sometimes just a passionate voice. When someone is hurt, angry, or in grief, that does not invalidate a story, but punctuates it. Emotions do not invalidate a story.
The other important thing is that we must detect our own personal bias. We each lean towards a set of sources that we prefer. We see what we want to. There are many names for this problem: confirmation bias, blind spots, motivated reasoning. Each of us may claim, “I watch all the news channels,” but we are still seeing through a lens of our own crafting. I must assume I’m missing something.
The initial step to break bias is to be aware it exists. In others, in ourselves. This awareness can be enough not to fall head first into a narrow belief. Then, from multiple sources, there is a way to construct an overview of what we are taking in—having empathy for those involved, not always to agree, but to see why certain decisions, statements, or conclusions were made. And, we must talk with people. Talk it out. Like C.S. Lewis says, “My own eyes are not enough for me; I will see through those of others.”
Discernment is the key. And that key unlocks the way to understanding what we’re seeing and what we can do about it. By unlocking bias, we unlock ourselves. We must be willing to see what we don’t want to.
— J.S.
