Disconnect in a Connected World

I was watching a recent episode of Madam Secretary, one of the shows I do enjoy watching. This particular episode involved some intrigue around the acquisition of a new fighter jet. We learn right at the start of the episode from one of the main characters this jet has some great bells and whistles but flying it is like trying to fly a brick.

The Secretary of Defence is made aware of this design flaw early on but after all, there has been years of work and millions spent on this choice, so throughout the show, the Secretary of Defence repeatedly makes the comment, “at the end of the day, it’s a really great jet”.

The disconnect between the reality of what the jet was and what the Secretary of Defence wanted it to be was stunning. I rather expect it was a deliberate part of the plot considering what seems to be way too common in the world right now.

The disconnect between what is claimed and what is real is widespread.

You’d think in a connected world that reasonably intelligent people would be discerning enough to search out and verify facts rather than simply choosing to believe what they choose to believe. The disconnects are everywhere.

My eldest brother is a pretty smart cookie for the most part. One subject the two of us need to be careful discussing is politics. He has a decidedly far right take on politics. In order to support his choices he needs to declare the mainstream media as being total fake news and his far right news sites as being the one true source of truth. Sounds like some religious faiths.

I can agree with him to a point, the mainstream media does exhibit bias that maybe wasn’t as present years ago. It is important to seek out more than one source on a news story to get past any bias the reporter may have. Generally the bias is more in the tone of the story than the substance of the facts.

I actually prefer to go to more than one source for the different angles and levels of depth on a story to get a fuller picture. My brother will only go to his ‘trusted’ source. The source that meets his worldview. The disconnect between his ability to discern and think critically and his desire to have the news match his worldview never fails to amaze me.

In a local organization I’m part of, there is an individual who has given years of service to the group. Some newer people to the group have taken a dislike to this person and has worked to try and push the person out. When confronted with the facts of what the person has done for the good of the organization, the naysayers simply choose to not hear or acknowledge the facts. They will disconnect from the facts in order to hold onto their own view.

Disconnects and the willingness of others to take part in them without question can lead to some pretty serious consequences. I’m looking south of the border to a government partially shut down, thousands out of work and ever increasing damage to the operation of the country and the economy over a President demanding a wall that no agency has ever recommended.

Now isn’t that a disconnect!