So here is my breakdown of how to get the point every time. It isn't guranteed, but I think that it can help you get a better grasp on current events, and if you don't post things online, you can always deny you were wrong later.
The Five Steps to Getting the Point
1. Read, read, read
Like most things, it starts with hard work. Read the news. I prefer to start at Google News and Huffington Post, but there are a lot of good places to find stories. Try to stick with something large enough to have to be slightly credible (no single source ever is, more on that later). CNN has to be on its game all the time, because people will call them on BS. A place most people tend to stay away from but probably has the most integrity out of any major news corp is Al-Jazeera (no, they aren't owned by Al Qaeda. Bin Laden sent his tapes there because they speak his language, and they're local-ish).
Check the title of this section, read times three. That means read more. Once you find something interesting, read about it somewhere else. Any place you go should have a search function (even I do), so find a few other sources and start looking for what they are reporting on the same topic. Maybe someone is spinning a story, and the real facts show this. You can't know until you read a few other sources. The nice thing about Google is that there are links below each story pointing you to similar ones, but I wouldn't just rely on Google archives all the time. Mix it up and find new places, and before you know it you have twenty open tabs for a story about anti-psychotic prescription rates in the U.S.
Read also means words. Looking at a chart is not reading. It also isn't helpful, because it doesn't tell you a story. For example: CNN used a chart to show opinions on the Terri Schiavo case. The chart showed a vast difference in opinion. Except that the entire difference could have been accounted to uncertainty in polling practices, and there was only a 1% confirmed difference, illustrating that even CNN can lie, and pictures suck.
2. Facts and fact checking
First, I think we need to clear the air about facts. As defined by Dictionary.com is:
fact –nounThe essential break-down is that it is a truth that has been proven. Opinions, by this definition, are not fact. Beliefs, though strong, are also not fact. Things that science or studies have confirmed in a lab after rigorous testing and retesting and scrutiny are facts. That bar is a little high, but you get the general picture.
[fakt]
1. something that actually exists; reality; truth: Your fears have no basis in fact.
2. something known to exist or to have happened: Space travel is now a fact.
3. a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true: Scientists gather facts about plant growth.
News articles are often full of opinions one way or the other, but the numbers don't (often) lie. When you read, find things that you could confirm independently. Take those numbers, and look around to confirm them. The nice thing is, numbers don't really change, even across languages and translations, unless your source is bullshit.
Speaking of, make sure you find out how the facts were attained. Some people try to use numbers to confuse you. Remember, after Bayer invented diamorphine (trademark name: Heroin) there were studies showing it as safer than codeine. Those studies were run by Bayer Pharmaceuticals, and it helped them to market it for a long while until studies showed... well it showed all the things we now know about the safety profile of heroin.
3. Reasoning and probability
After you do a lot of reading, it is time to start thinking. Arguably harder than reading, thinking is what happens when a lot of information is taken into your brain, combined, and then used to come to conclusions. Maybe after you read that Obama and Boehner are still pussy footing around the deficit issue, you think that one or the other is an asshole. That's fine, as long as you look at the whole picture and draw a reasonable conclusion. Some might think that both are being ridiculous, or neither, but you can't say that before you know what is going on. The quickest way to be outed as a douche is to have opinions you can't back up with any information.
Logic plays a pretty significant role here. I can't teach that. Some colleges try, but really, if you can't construct logical thoughts, please step away from the Internet because this place is dangerous for you. There are lots of hints and tips, but only trying and failing and trying and failing a whole lot will you ever get anywhere. Case and point being that a younger me thought deregulation of the market and Laissez-faire economics would create a better, more stable market. Then I watched the economists sit by idly and fuck us sideways with bailouts for rich bankers in jets who make millions while Social Security was cut for what may have been the ten billionth year running.
After a quick slap of reality, I adjusted my views, because Wall Street is inherently evil, and anything not governed quickly devolved into backstabbing and treachery. Always be willing to change opinion if you get new info, because reasoning is a continuous process. You can't be right always, and more likely than not you are wrong more often than not. Admitting mistakes might not fix things, but at least you aren't an asshole.
4. Probability
Which leads to probability. Just a reminder, anything is possible. You might fall through the world because the empty space in your atoms lines up perfect with the ground. It isn't probable, in fact, it's so improbable than an infinite number of realities could happen and it still wouldn't occur. That said, it's possible, and until proven otherwise, you can't rule it out.
There are a lot of explanations for things happening, and hindsight is 20/20 for everyone. Prediction is difficult, mostly because humans are much crazier than we ourselves credit for, but also because there are many factors in any decision. There are lots of things that probably will happen, but anyone who claims to know beforehand is a scam artist.
As a general rule, remember: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. A lot of politics becomes heated because people can't understand why people don't see things their way. Usually, it's because they see things their way. No, the [democrats, republicans, tea party members, anyone] isn't trying to mess things up for [you, me, us, our children] intentionally. They really believe they are helping, and hurling insults about incompetence isn't helping anyone. Let's try debate and discussion, which brings me to the conclusion...
5. Posting is hard
It isn't easy to actually say something between all the disinformation and confusion, especially something that isn't willfully ignorant. I don't have a solution. I get things wrong and say things that aren't "nice," and I haven't found a place where everything is sunshine and roses. However, one thing that helps is just be respectful. Sitting around and shouting back and forth across the political party roundtable isn't going to help anyone. It detracts from actual conversation and turns the news into a monkey fuckfest. Read, be as informed as possible, learn, and discuss. Getting the point isn't an A to B trip, but a strange journey through weird news and thought that usually leads nowhere. I'd like to think there is a universal point, but I don't think I'm really getting it.
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