The Risk of Objectivity

It struck me (once again) this morning how much we tend to bind our self-esteem to ideas and opinions. Once we have offered a view on something, we defend it. Indeed, we stoke the fires by censoring the information we acquire and receive. We read the articles that support our take on an issue and wave them about for others to read. We skip over opposing views or try to trash them, to make them worthless.

The official name for some of those tendencies when they are done without thinking is "selective perception". Beyond that, we tend to filter out within our brains the arguments and facts that support our view, and forget about those that oppose it. This is called "selective retention".

What does this mean to publishers and bloggers? It means that if they stick to a hard line view, as do the Anti-Pinoy and Get Real blog sites, they can build up a clientele of like-minded readers who enjoy the perspectives there. Because the reader base is fired up and supportive, the publishers increase the stridency of their views and everyone is happy.

The problem is, they are not objective, they harass and drive away opposing views, and they end up wrong about half the time.

These natural bias-building inclinations are not unique to the Philippines. Look at the fundamentalist religious movements around the globe. Same principle. Or look at the Tea Party or Occupy movements in the U.S. Same thing. The uprisings of the Arab Spring. Same thing. People are rallying around causes that reinforce their own preconceptions. That often include only half the truth.

Publishers and bloggers who try to tread a balanced line risk becoming irrelevant because about 50% of the time they are offending one set of readers or another.  If they write a particularly hard-hitting article favoring a given perspective, they risk losing readers who believe something different. And if they write the opposite hard-line article, they risk losing the rest. Readers flit off to find views that are better aligned with their thinking.

My leanings tend to the liberal, I suppose. But I have also blasted the Occupy movement as being a step closer to anarchy than to freedom. So Occupy supporters may take offense and stop reading. Or as I relentlessly pound on the Catholic Church of the Philippines, I risk filtering out Catholic readers. And my blog effort seems somehow to become less genuine for that.

With this as background, I find that I particularly admire the articles on the blog site Blog Watch:Citizen Media, an effort of Noemi Dado (and separate from blogwatch.ph) . She is decidedly in favor of women's well-being and supports the HR Bill. But she makes sure to publish opposing views, including those by the Catholic Church. Yesterday, I read an article by Gloria Arroyo critical of the lack of energy and single-minded focus of the Aquino Administration. Blog Watch didn't wrap the statement in editorial commentary condemning Ms. Arroyo's point of view, although readers are certainly free to add their perspectives in the comment section. The article was allowed to stand on its own merits. And remarks or writings by the Aquino Administration are also presented on the site, and allowed to stand for what they are.

I've written two articles that have been published on Blog Watch: Citizen Media. One is on education and another on the Philippineclass structure. Both articles had their genesis in dialogue here at The Society of Honor. Not all blog sites welcome views by non-Filipinos. Indeed, to win some blogging awards in the Philippines, you have to be Filipino. Ideas of themselves aren't what is important, even if they are about the Philippines; nationality is important. It is a form of selective perception.

In naming my blog site "The Society of Honor", I was actually stating an ideal, the wisdom and high-mindedness of striving for objectivity instead of promoting an agenda. That's where the term "Honor" comes in. I've found that is harder than it seems, because, as sole writer and editor, I am fully susceptible to the forces of selective perception and retention.

I rely upon readers to hold me to a straight line when I wobble. That is the Society I refer to in the blog name. I'd like to build a readership who can respect opposing views, but have the candor to disagree, as I strive to do the same. By way of example, I appreciate the stance of Mariano who articulately, in his cynical style, criticizes President Aquino even as I praise him. He never finds a need to bolster his argument by calling me a moron. And I appreciate Brianitus giving my chain a yank when I over-ranted about Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Indeed, it is this striving for balance and a 100% reading of all perspectives that will assure that you and I both remain open-eyed, open minded, and as close to 100% intelligent as we can get. Rather than limiting ourselves to a 50% level of intelligence by selectivity in what we observe, remember and say.