If You Don’t Agree, Would You Kindly Keep Your Mouth Shut?

By far and away, the most read post on my blog is my response to the “pilot’s perspective” e-mail forward that’s going around the web. It pleases me because it means other people are searching for the truth about the accusations in such forwards. I hope they are copying and pasting my response and hitting “reply all” so the truth can be spread even farther than my little blog. I’ve always maintained that while I do support Obama in this election, my motives in researching the accusations and responding to the forwards is not based in partisan politics. I’m only trying to limit the damage lies can do to this country–lies that convince people to vote based on their fears instead of the issues facing our country today. These e-mail forwards only serve to divide our country even farther down political lines, preventing us from attaining the greatness this country once had.

But the most damaging part of these e-mails isn’t the rumors or even outright lies that they bring to your inbox.

No, the worst and most damaging aspect of these forwards is tucked down in the bottom of the message. Often it is the last line of the e-mail forward. It usually goes something like this:

“If you agree with me and the rest of America that want to take this country back, send this to everyone you know. If you don’t agree, just delete this message.”

After reading all the lies that claim to be facts…all the rumors meant to prey upon your fears…if you’re still not convinced of the evils of Democrats or Barack Obama, don’t fight back. Just simply delete this message. Don’t let your voice be heard. And don’t even think about researching the “facts” stated in this e-mail. Just delete the message. Go on. It’s that little button in the corner of your inbox. It’s so easy. Just do it…

And bam. You delete the message and the lies continue.

See, if you only delete the message, the truth will never get out. You can’t stop the lies in the forward because the line of delivery doesn’t end with you. Chances are you were sent the forward along with about 20 other people. And each of them might send it to 20 more people. So in simply deleting the message, you’re not stopping the lies from spreading–you’re just stopping the truth from being heard. You’re allowing the lying liar who originally wrote the message to take your voice away from you with a simple suggestion.

And in that, you’ve become complacent in the lies that are being spread.

By not speaking out against the lies, you’re allowing them to go on unabated. Someone much smarter than me once said “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” I’m not claiming to be a good man just by replying to an e-mail forward full of lies, but the principle is still the same.

All it takes for the lies to be believed is for those who know the truth to remain silent.

That’s why I feel the need to research the accusations and claims made in many of these forwards. That’s why I spend an hour or two going point by point through the e-mails and writing a response to every lie that’s presented as fact. I’m only trying to spread the truth, and I’m happy to do it.

But I can’t do it alone. I need your help.

The next time you receive an e-mail forward claiming to present “facts” about anything…whether it’s about the evils of Obama, the benefits of hydrogen peroxide, or the many uses of WD-40, do yourself and everyone you know a favor and do a little research. Find out if the “facts” presented in the e-mail forward are true. You’ll find that most, if not all of the time, they are not. A good rule of thumb is this: if you get an e-mail forward that presents a set of facts that make you think to yourself, “Wow, that’s amazing. I can’t believe I’ve never heard about that before,” ask yourself WHY haven’t you heard about it before. The answer is often this: because it’s simply not true. If you get an e-mail saying Barack Obama is a Muslim, ask yourself why you haven’t heard about this before.

It’s because it’s not true.

You cannot and should not depend on e-mail forwards being your only source of information because there’s no responsibility to present the truth. Unlike news organizations, who need to present the actual truth in order to retain the public’s respect (and thus, their viewership), individuals can write whatever they want and send it along in an e-mail, presenting it as truth with no ramifications whatsoever. Again, this applies to all e-mail forwards, not just political ones. I recently got an e-mail saying a penny would cure a bee sting. Sounds great…but if that were the case, wouldn’t I have heard about it before now? I probably would have…if it were at all true.

But doing some research and finding the truth just isn’t enough. The most important step you need to take is after you discover the truth behind the “facts” presented in the e-mail forward, you need to hit “reply all” and tell the people the truth. Tell everyone they are being lied to. Tell them that Barack Obama isn’t a Muslim, that a penny can’t cure bee stings, and Bill Gates won’t send them a check simply for sending along a chain letter. The truth needs to be heard and you need to be the one to say it. Fight back against the lies spread in e-mail forwards! Take back your voice from those who want to silence the truth! And most importantly remember: “just delete this message” is not an option.