(This is neither a media statement nor an invitation for party political rhetoric)
Like many, I have been guilty of jumping to conclusions—conclusions that were based on incomplete or false information—conclusions that have sometimes proven to be incorrect or off-the-mark. Adapting plans and actions based on incorrect or faulty conclusions and perceptions can have dire consequences.
Most reasonable people’s thought processes rely on an input (incoming information/intelligence), resulting in a mental process (objective thinking, pondering, reasoning, and reaching a conclusion) and an output (issuing a comment, instruction, response, or a statement).
The input I was on occasion given was tainted with a personal bias, subjectivity, an agenda, or with a specific aim.
Like many, I had regularly accepted the input given to me as ‘true’ or as ‘intelligence’. This has driven home the adage ‘don’t believe everything you hear or read’. It has also taught me to question the input more. This does, however, not exonerate me from having reached faulty conclusions, and subsequently having made bad decisions—something I have done in the past—more times than I care to remember.
No matter how well intentioned a decision may be, if the input is false or based on rumour, innuendo, flawed intelligence, or economic, racial, religious, political or xenophobic bias, it is inviting disaster.
In a world where the stakes are increasingly high, I would encourage all those in positions of influence, education, trust and power, to question more and not merely accept the ‘facts’ as given to them or as they perceive them to be.
Some political leaders, political commentators, historians, and mainstream and social media journalists specifically target emotive issues with deep, hidden agendas often aimed at inciting negative—and even evoking threatening responses. Their statements are often without substance or are given a spin to suit their own personal narratives. Ironically, very few people question their motives. Yet good people fall for the lies of bad people—one of the dangers of simply jumping to conclusions. And some of these good people will end up doing stupid things that could ignite the powder keg we are sitting on.
When education is presented in a manner aimed at thoughtless parroting, the ability of students to think clearly and logically is reduced. When history is rewritten in a manner to distort facts, it degrades the abilities of students to think objectively, to reason—and to debate sensibly. It also closes off the world to them. This disadvantage is carried-over into adulthood. The vital lessons history teaches us are then flushed down the drain of political madness, and we are bound to repeat those mistakes.
In many instances, academic rigour has been replaced with ‘politically correct’ regurgitated nonsense. The end result is a manifestation of a lack of education and reasoning, along with replacing truth with fairy tales, coupled to an inability to ‘connect the dots.’
Those who are able to reason and reach sound conclusions are dismissed or targeted simply because they deviate from the prevailing narrative, or pose a threat to those unable to think.
Distorted input has also resulted—and still results in bad political, economic, social, and military decision making, the issuance of divisive and militant comments, the propagation of untruths, the collapse or downgrading of economies and governments, chaos, conflict, and even war.
I look forward to the day when our commentators, political leaders, educationalists, historians, journalists, and our nation, will do some serious introspection and change their behaviour; instead of a continually accepting false as fact, we need to start questioning the input and agendas before we reach conclusions.
Until that day, accepting faulty input and jumping to incorrect conclusions, will simply further downgrade our economy and our social fabric, ruin or even destroy our country, and continue to divide our people.
Jumping to incorrect conclusions
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