Public Discourse Statement: Paradigm Wars!

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Conrmation Bias is peoples tendency to search for information that veries what they already believe ! Two people disagree on the benets of IMF loans for Latin America, ! ! opposite positions neither person will likely ever leave! We tend to read stories supporting our own opinions, collect talking points from our chosen media, ! ! and pull out self-serving statistics like tricks weve been hiding up our sleeves! A paradigm is a way of seeing, a world-view shaped by our upbringing, cultural history, ! ! what our leaders tell us, and how mainstream media interprets world events! Whos the good guy, whos the bad guy, trouble in the streets - we rely on our news to tell us what it meant ! Decades pass, what we hear and see more-or-less reinforces our world-view, we live & breath a certain slant! Clips of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pounding his st on the podium ! ABC news shows his eet of Mercedes, another corrupt dictator ranting his anti-American rant ! Once developing a world-view theres much we take for granted! Globalization and free trade good for everybody - these are givens, its what Ive always believed! Third World nations struggling due to local corruption and mismanagement! or Third World nations exploited by global economics - still waiting for their colonizers to leave ! Are the slums of Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua by-products of Latin American dictators! ! or the aftermath of U.S. military coups and deals sealed by a World Bank pen! Your answer may depend on where were you born or who taught you history! Does all your information on Central America come from CNN? ! A paradigm is a way of seeing, our own world-view begins to form well before we can tie our own shoes! I pledge allegiance to the ag of a nation that never seems to lose ! Textbooks written by the winners, U.S. a force for good, spreading democracy and justice around the world ! One nation swells with pride, others cringe in fear - each time the ags unfurled! ! Within a world-view there are variations ! If your parents idolized Ronald Reagan you may see his war against Nicaragua as justiable ! ! oh yeah - and all homeless people are lazy ! If your parents idolized Jimmy Carter you may view Ronald Reagan as off-his-rocker crazy !

Conrmation bias shows a tendency for belief perseverance in the face of contrary evidence! So if you cant help but defend U.S. interventions in Latin America! ! theres psychological evidence letting you off the hook! But if youve got the nerve to learn another version of Latin American history, I recommend you read this book! The Open Veins of Latin America, Hugo Chavez gave it to President Obama, ! ! he said it was essential in understanding Latin American politics today! If this is enough of a reason for you not to read it - its called paradigm paralysis! ! your world view is getting in your way!

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Mike Murphy ! MCM 2014!

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