Are you Desperate for a Truth Sandwich?
Do you ever have that feeling that if you don’t speak up, your head’s going to explode? This wasn’t supposed to be today’s post, but I’m worried that my head’s going to explode if I don’t address this issue and I really need to make a Truth Sandwich.
With the advent of social media we’re all faced with the following decisions every day. Be an ostrich. Get off social media. Or start speaking out.
I’ve spoken out before and sometimes there’s a backlash. People who are caught in the middle are uncomfortable. People who post the objectionable material sometimes take offense with those who don’t agree with them. Sometimes it devolutes to a level that becomes personal.
One of my values is kindness. It’s difficult to know where kindness fits with the overwhelming need to speak up when you know that what you have to say will offend others. Consequently my voice is often stuffed into my back pocket. I drag it out from time to time, often to shame and regret, either self-imposed or imposed by others who seek to muzzle diverse voices.
At my heart, I’m a people pleasing rebel driven to know the truth. And yes, that causes all sorts of angst. Wisdom is being able to cut through to the truth, so if I want to develop wisdom, I need to seek truth.
It’s human nature to look for evidence that supports our world view.
Recently we’ve all witnessed the corner that people painted themselves into because they sided with a political party that took strands of their supporters’ world view and wove it into their platform. Now those strand are being stretched to the breaking point. Social Media has brought the whole world into the arena.
Politicians know the world view of their constituents and will tune their instruments to play to these biases in order to build their base. I’m alarmed to see that our Canadian politicians are resorting to these same tactics. I’m glad that we have checks and balances through the opposition. But I want them to be honest when they challenge policies and not use people’s biases and fears to fan hate and anger.
The end does not justify the means. We can’t make informed decisions if the truth is distorted in order to manipulate people’s hearts and minds. And that’s where the truth sandwich comes in.
4 Essential Ingredients for a Truth Sandwich
1. Know our own biases.
- Identifying trigger words helps dig out the biases
- Naming your fears helps dig out bias
- Ask yourself what’s at stake?
2. Identify the bias of who we’re challenging
- What’s their end game?
- Is an expert quoted?
- What are their credentials?
- Who funds them? Most of this is readily available on the internet and that alone indicates what biases may be in operation. Just because someone has Letters behind their name does not mean they are unbiased.
3. Evaluate what they offer as proof
- Can it be substantiated by multiple sources?
- Is there an obvious gap in the evidence provided?
- Has the evidence been altered? Has the video been clipped? If so, did it significantly alter the message?
- Are there lack of specifics making it hard to verify their claims?
- Are they promoting fear? Be especially suspicious when they use groups of people or other races to incite fear.
4. Educate yourself on the central issue so you’re making an informed decision.
- What are the facts of the situation
- Look at both sides
Now you’re ready to build a truth sandwich.
What is a Truth Sandwich?
A truth sandwich is a way of crafting your response to claims that are misleading and/or untrue.
If you haven’t read Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff, do so.
While framed around the political scene in the U.S., there are lessons for all of us. Lakoff posted this outline of the Truth Sandwich on Twitter. Lakoff’s concern is that as we challenge untruths, we inadvertently reinforce and give further voice to the untruth. Hence the Truth Sandwich.
1. Talk about the truth
2. Frame the real issue
- Note attempts to divert attention
- Say that [s]/he’s diverting attention
- When claims are false, say why
3. Go back to the real issues
- Don’t spend too much time on diversions
- Get right back to the issue at hand
A Demonstration of the Process
Because it was such a blatant example of truth distortion, I’m going to apply this process to a post that multiple people have shared on Facebook. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I’m still practising this process so feedback is appreciated.
It’s a video put out by Candice Bergen, MP. She starts out:
“You will not believe this! I asked Justin Trudeau to explain why an anti-Semitic extremist organization received funding under the Canada Summer Jobs program, but churches who help the homeless are denied. Watch This – “
Once you click on the video, she continues her preamble.
Gathering the 4 Ingredients of the Truth Sandwich
1. Be aware of my own bias
I don’t identify as a Liberal, but nor am I a P.C. With no political affiliations, I characterize myself as an Independent voter. Not meaning I vote for Independents. Rather, I vote for the candidate whose platform most closely aIigns with my values. I wasn’t happy with the Harper Government at all. I’m very sensitive to slanted language. I’m extremely sensitive to anything that leads to gross generalizations and biased and/or racist comments towards “other”.
My bullshit antennas went up as soon as I read “anti-Semitic extremist organization”. Bergen doesn’t give the organization’s name. Why? The video is labeled Al Qud’s Rally. Is this who received the funding? Spoiler alert – it’s not.
2. Identify the bias of the presenter.
Candice Bergen is a Conservative MP from Manitoba and currently lives in Winkler. I spent a winter attending Bible School in Winkler. Reading her bio, I see that she is involved in very worthwhile pursuits, but she does have the obvious bias of trying to discredit Liberal Prime Minister Trudeau. That’s politics.
But she knowingly uses the power of language to manipulate people through repeated lies and misinformation and in the process brought out the worst in her followers. By that I mean people started making racist and derogatory comments, not just toward Sheikh Shafiq Huda, the speaker she does not name, but towards a whole race of people.
Her end game is to discredit Trudeau’s implementation of the new approval process for summer work grants. She names the document that organizations must sign as a “values test” rather than using the government language of “attestation”.
She claims that thousands and thousands of organizations have not been able to get funding because Liberals didn’t approve of their beliefs. That’s slanted in two ways. One, they don’t need the government to approve their beliefs, rather they need to attest that they will uphold Canada’s Human Rights Law. Two, 68,967 jobs were funded across Canada last year. To say thousands and thousands of organizations didn’t get funding this year is an exaggeration.
3. What does she offer as proof?
She introduces the clips of a rally in Toronto whose primary purpose, she claims, is to incite hatred. That it was an anti-Semitic rally and she can’t believe that they received funding.
I watched her video
The video that Bergen manipulated did appear violent toward anyone who disagreed with Muslims. Her viewers were outraged that this group had received funding. Except it’s not as straightforward as that.
The thing is, I noticed an almost imperceptible change of speaker position on screen that didn’t make sense. As well, the word “Ramadan” hadn’t been scrubbed and sounded out of place. So I searched for the original. I was not expecting to find that Bergen had gone as far as she did to distort the message that was presented.
Here’s the unedited transcript and you can watch the full video here. The red underlined script is what Bergen chose to include in her video. Everything else was omitted.
Sheikh Shafiq Huda: I have spoken to my Christian brothers and sisters. I have spoken to my Jewish brothers and sisters. I have spoken to my Muslim brothers and sisters. I have spoken even to atheist brothers and sisters because there’s one common denominator for all of us. We have a love of humanity and justice in our hearts and that is what has kept us coming here. You will try to stop us. The community and the politicians will try and stop us, label us as anti-Semites. We are all semites. We are all the same group. The only thing we will not tolerate is not the religious or a faith community. We will not tolerate any injustice and the unjust development or unjust entity wherever they are in any state or form whatsoever. More than any other nation on the face of this earth the Zionist entity of Israel has been condemned by the United Nations, by human rights organizations, by any believer of justice and love of humanity. Why? You’re saying it’s anti-Semitism, it’s anti-Judaism and then I would say why are my brothers and sisters here today every year. It’s not a matter of Semitism or anti-Semitism, it’s a matter that the government of Israel, the state of Israel, has committed (couldn’t identify the word at 2:18) then any other country, nation, or northern nation has committed. Against innocents, against children, against the vulnerable, against the elderly. You will see it everywhere around you. Those who are most vulnerable get attacked by the Zionists. Why? If you are not cowards. If you’re brave. Send your army into Palestine. Why Bomb? Why send missiles and (couldn’t determine the word 2:43)? Start fighting soldier to soldier, face-to-face. We know you can’t do that because you’re cowards. Cowards! You’re afraid because you would leave in body bags. The same body bags that you have caused for the Palestinians. Your army and your Israeli forces will leave Palestine in body bags. Come forward we challenge you. We challenge Israeli defense force. Fight like men not cowards. Cowards will bomb babies, destroy homes, uproot trees, cause economic decimation. Somebody who is not my favorite person, David Cameron, called Gaza the worlds’ largest open air prison. No freedom to move around or travel. No medical (missed a word), no medical availability. Basic medication or antibiotics are not available. Children, the elderly, the vulnerable die for simple basic medications that you and I are probably throwing in the garbage every year. This is one thing perhaps may come as a bit of a surprise. I am praying for a day to come in our lifetime where we won’t need the Al Qud rally because Palestine will be free. Oppression will be eradicated. Injustice will end. That is what we pray for. We won’t have to meet every Saturday in the holy month This is our prayer to the Almighty Creator whether you call him God or Allah, you call him Jehovah, or whatever name you want to call him. We pray to the creator of the Almighty a day will come when we see justice throughout the world. The eradication of the unjust powers such as the American empire such as the Israeli Zionists. And in the same way that we saw the British Empire wither away. The sun never set on it, then the sun set on it. We will see the day coming, inshallah, God willing in our lifetime. Where this empire, the Zionist empire, the American empire will be down in the dustbin of history. Inshallah. God willing.
4. Educate myself on the facts.
The Al Qud Rally was implemented by Khomeini in 1979 to express support for Palestinians and oppose Zionism. This helps me understand why it enrages people. It’s an annual event held the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan throughout many countries. As you read in Huda’s speech, Muslims use this day to speak out against injustice and to call for justice throughout the world and in particular, Gaza.
Middle East Politics is messy and complicated. I was brought up with an end-times theology that supports Zionism and this theology seems to be at the crux of many people’s reactions to this speech and the reason why they support Israel. It’s important to note that there are Jewish people who don’t support their Government’s treatment of the Palestinians. I don’t understand this well enough and it really isn’t part of the argument except as context.
Gaza – I don’t think anyone argues against the horrible plight these people are enduring. Deplorable living conditions aside, even the U.S. in the most recent attack, didn’t deny that the Israeli soldiers fired on and killed civilians. The difference is around who they blamed. In the Ambassador’s words, it was Hamas’ fault and the Israeli army was only doing what any nation would do in order to protect their borders. Again, more context.
As much as I dread even the thought of an all out war in the Middle East, if my family found themselves in a similar situation as the Palestinians, I would hope that people around the world would raise their voices in opposition.
However the real issue that Bergen is addressing is the displeasure around the Summer Work Program funding. The documents are easily accessible on-line and yes, organizations do have to sign (checkbox) an attestation that regardless of their beliefs, they will not discriminate against people protected by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.
This does present a dilemma for some churches. It’s a little vague so does this mean they can’t actively preach or demonstrate as an organization against issues such as abortion and/or LGBTQ rights? However, it also begs the question as to whether actively preaching or demonstrating against these rights should even be the church’s role. However, is this suppression of free speech or is it, as Trudeau states, an attempt to hold organizations that receive public funds accountable for upholding Human Rights?
If you’re still with me – thank you!
Here’s my attempt to Make a truth sandwich
1. Talk about the truth
Churches and other organizations can access Summer Work Funds provided they sign an attestation that they will uphold Canada’s Human Rights. The Government expectation is that regardless of their beliefs, they have to check a box that indicates they will not actively discriminate on the basis of those beliefs.
2. Frame the real issue
Bergen manipulated her supporters by posting doctored footage from the Al Qud rally in Toronto. This is a yearly protest held by Muslims against injustices around the world. Her doctored video put two completely different parts of the speech together, thus making it look like the speaker was advocating violence and genocide. This together with her lack of specifics inflamed her viewers and elicited hateful, racist comments toward a group of people, and anger towards the Liberal Government for funding Al Qud while denying churches.
3. Go back to the real issues
Al Qud isn’t an organization so it’s not eligible for Summer Work funding. Sheikh Shafiq Huda spoke out against the atrocities in Gaza. He is head of an organization called the Islamic Humanitarian Service of Kichener. This organization was founded in 1984 and its mission is to educate people about Islam. They received funding last year and presumably this year as well. Churches were also eligible for funds provided they checked the attestation box.
Tying up this Post
We need to hold our politicians accountable to sticking to the facts rather than using people as pawns and inculcating hate in the process. This post isn’t about whether the PM is right or wrong on the issue of Summer Work funding. This post isn’t about making a decision on whether the Islamic Humanitarian Service of Kichener should or shouldn’t receive Summer Work Funding.
This post is about getting people to hold our politicians responsible when they deliberately and maliciously feed into fears and biases by distorting the truth for their own gain.
And it’s about sharing Lakoff’s Truth Sandwich because it gives a format for addressing lies and/or misinformation in a way that doesn’t inadvertantly reinforce the message.
Seek truth. Speak truth. Demand truth.
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Martin Luther King Jr.
P.S. This is a long post and if you stuck with me to the end – thank you! My head is no longer about to explode. I’d love to have you sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already done so.
Yes! I want to receive your newsletter!
Simply . . .