People will sometimes only watch what they believe in and what they want to see or hear. Maybe you know someone who watches only a certain news station or reads only a certain newspaper, and they don’t want to give anything else a try. Even if they know what they are reading isn’t true. They are stuck on a station/newspaper. I can see it making sense though. They have always relied on their station for 40+ years and they don’t want to ‘betray’ them. I can understand how one might feel about that.
But when it comes down to listening to another person about a topic and maybe you don’t like what you are hearing from them, and you want to tell them ‘facts’ about a story you only got from one place… it doesn’t seem very credible. In many debates, it’s very good to have many sources of information to justify what you believe in. So, if you only have one source, well that’s not going to make anyone listen or believe in what you are saying or wanting to convey.
Why do people only watch news relating to their personal beliefs? If we are talking strictly beliefs here, then it might help to know what a belief is. According to Merriam-Webster, a belief is “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is played in some person or thing” (Belief). Like believing in a God or a democracy. Another definition they have on there is “something that is accepted, considered to be true, or held as an opinion” (Belief).
Again, it’s saying that someone believing in something they deem true to them is a belief; religious or political. If people want to watch news that is pertaining to what they believe in, well that’s just fine. It’s not an issue. It’s only an issue when they are trying to justify something about a certain topic. Like I said above, a debate isn’t going to last long if you only have information from one source.
There are many ‘one sided’ news stations out there and anyone has their right to watch them. An example would be CBN News, (Christian Broadcasting Network). They have many articles talking about their God and world leaders. I came across an article titled “City Council Gives in to Atheists, Removing ‘God’ from Local Park.” It didn’t have an author, it just said it was by CBN news.
The article was talking about how these atheists wanted a park bench removed because it said “Men Who Aren’t Governed By God Will Be Governed By Tyrants,” which I can understand why that would be a little upsetting to atheists, people who don’t believe in a God. The point is, if you are only reading/watching from this network, then how are you supposed to understand others views and sides?
If you are a Christian and you are reading through your daily news on here, and you see this article, how would feel about it? Many will mostly agree with the article and only see the Christian side- not wanting the bench removed because of your belief in your God. The atheists have their views as well and it would have been helpful if there were two sides that were acknowledging both beliefs, so they could work something out, instead of ‘fighting’ over a bench.
For society, it’s not helpful. Personally, I think if people were to read and understand, not agree or disagree, but to just understand an opposing article or person, then the world would be a better place. That’s a big opinion to say, but that’s how I feel. If people would stop and understand other people’s beliefs and why the say what they say and believe what they believe, then we wouldn’t have so much hate or anger out there. As J.K Rowling has said, “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery” (Rowling).
References
Belief. (n.d.). Retrieved May 11, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belief
News, CBN. (2017, May 10). City Council Gives in to Atheists, Removing ‘God’ from Local Park. Retrieved May 11, 2017, from http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2017/may/city-council-gives-in-to-atheists-removing-god-from-local-park
Rowling, J. K. (n.d.). Quotes About Understanding (1765 quotes). Retrieved May 11, 2017, from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/understanding
