In the Echo Chamber

In the echo chamber

Every man can hear himself,

But no one can hear

Most anybody else.

What is fair and balanced

In the eye of the beholder

Once seemed so obvious,

But shifts as I get older.

Entrenched and intractable

Just doesn’t seem so practical.

Some clutch confirmation bias,

Though mutability is more tactical.

Sometimes you’ll need to squint

When you’re browsing through,

Because the issues as they’re stated

Are not the story true.

It’s all about the messaging

For those they claim to serve,

But if you discover their real motives

You’ll be aghast they have the nerve.

“Read between the lines,”

That’s what my father said.

You’ve got to vet your sources

And curate ideas inside your head.

Critical thinking isn’t always easy,

And integrity can seem like a chore.

There are liars in light and shadows,

Meal worms and maggots scour the floor.

These times may seem uncertain

When we don’t know who to trust,

So we seek out peace of mind

Because we know that we must.

There must be some place of certainty,

Some place beyond the fear,

Where rhetoric is not so cloudy

And veracity rings clear.

So you shout out to the webbed world

“Please relieve my worrisome distress!”

Then return a cacophony of voices

All clamoring to impress.

Who will you believe

As you judge from preconception;

Those who already share your opinion,

Or those who challenge your perception?

Do your principles pass muster

Is the quest that you must mount.

Only when you prove how you know

Will what you know truly count.

Emotion is no foundation

Though it provides guidance of a kind.

Reason is the true progenitor

Of a thoughtful, justly mind.

In the echo chamber

Where reason lays to rest,

Dare to bang the walls

And rouse your slumbering guest.

If you want to trust your mind

And drown the din of strife,

The truth will set you free.

That’s and imperative for life.