Who Are Our Truth-Tellers?
By: Beth Bradford
Tags: Polarization, Election 2020, Truth, Politics, News

Who Are Our Truth-Tellers?

We accept the truth only when it’s in our favor.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

The great Jon Miller is a legend in Baltimore as a radio announcer for the Orioles. His beloved voice endured through the highs and lows of the Orioles in the 80s and 90s. He would call it how he saw it, even if it was unfavorable for the O’s. He would often express disbelief at some “bone-headed” plays, which didn’t sit well with the eventual team owner, Peter Angelos. Angelos later fired him for Miller’s candid criticism. Peter Angelos didn’t like truth-tellers.

My father used to be a football referee. His job was to make sure the players and coaches were playing by the rules. Every Friday night and Saturday, he would get dressed in his black and white stripes and officiate games throughout Maryland. He would tell me how ruthless some of the fans were at some of his calls. Some referees say fans follow them to their cars to threaten them, necessitating referees to have police escorts. Fans don’t like truth-tellers either.

Consider the effectiveness of cheerleaders. They tell us what we want to hear. It’s always amazed me that cheerleaders face the fans, not the team. They entertain us with their pyramids and backflips. They tell us, “Our team is number one,” even if it’s indeed losing. Cheerleaders aren’t truth-tellers.

When we look for information about the game, do we look for a candid play-by-play announcer, a referee, or a cheerleader? We could watch the game ourselves while listening to the play-by-play announcer. We could observe the game and trust the referees, who are seeing it from a different perspective than we are. We could also wow ourselves with the cheerleaders and pay no attention to the game itself. Or we could stare at the Jumbotron and take selfies to post on social media.

Meanwhile, your team is losing.

It might make us feel better if we just focus on the cheerleaders or the people who are on “our team” who validate our beliefs. The cheerleaders are only there to entertain us. They get paid whether the team wins or loses. For them, it’s all about the show.

Our partisan bloggers and social media influencers do this. Some opinion programs on some cable channels do this. Some crafty lawyers do this. They wow you with provocative rhetoric to keep your focus away from what’s going on. Meanwhile, your team is losing. You didn’t consult the truth-teller.

Image by PDPics from Pixabay

We can instead watch the game unmediated and trust the truth-telling referee. Referees don’t try to get you to see things differently. They are making sure the players aren’t breaking the rules. Responsible media organizations do this. Reputable scientists do this. Election officials do this. They aren’t being paid by either team. They are just reporting on the facts.

You also can’t blame the referee if he didn’t make a call you wanted, particularly if you don’t have evidence.

Blaming the referee doesn’t change the fact that someone broke the rules. Threatening violence on the referee only makes you look like more of a jerk, and it doesn’t change the outcome. You also can’t blame the referee if he didn’t make a call you wanted, particularly if you don’t have evidence. Trust the truth-tellers.

Our play-by-play announcers might be “paid” by one team, but the best ones are truth-tellers. They aren’t afraid to call mistakes on the players, the coach, or the team itself. Some cable news outlets might be slanted in one direction, but they don’t change how the teams play the game. We can watch the game ourselves and perhaps be guided by the announcers, but it’s up to us to focus on how well both teams play. We have to recognize that sometimes, our team might have been “boneheaded.”

We have to reconcile ourselves with the truth. We can’t blame the cheerleaders, the referees, or the play-by-play announcers. We can’t accuse the other team of cheating. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride and recognize that maybe our team wasn’t strong enough to win.