I trust fewer people than I did five years ago. There are not many outside my circle of friends and family, and I trust fewer of the insiders every month. Public figures and those we once called journalists have lost my trust through betrayal, misinformation, or skepticism. Trust is a lens that I view life through. Through that lens, I accept everything until I am proven wrong, and if the view is through distrust, then I am suspicious about everything they say and do.
I fear that I am leaning toward accepting stories, reports, and opinions from those who have earned my trust. My critical thinking skills are challenged by bias toward what I agree with and what I believe I already know. My curiosity is suffering as I source my information from a personal mirror of monotony and similarity. I have always been comfortable deconstructing my worldview and acknowledging that I didn't have valid information or a wide enough sample set to arrive at a conclusion. I drew from diverse ideas and found a synthesis rather than a conformity conclusion. I am relying on the echo of agreement as a veracity tool and wonder if this is driven by fear or laziness.
Do you find someone who you disagree with trustworthy? I left this piece to sit for a few weeks before returning to reflect. The tenor of the tragic discourse around world affairs has only reinforced my bias toward trusting the opinions and ideas of folks with whom I have an affinity. How have you opened curiosity when surety takes hold?
I am feeling adrift and looking for a safe anchorage - that may be why I am seeking certainty if not veracity.
You are absolutely not alone-right there with you brother