Sir, – I am moved to take issue with Sean Moncrieff’s column “Too often our emotions – anger, frustration, fear – propel us to search for ‘facts’ to fit how we are feeling” (Magazine, August 10th).
He presents a world in which the majority have routine access to a body of incontrovertibly true information. By contrast a group of “hysterical” citizens who “don’t trust the mainstream media” are fed a diet of patently false information on the myriad platforms of the internet.
Might it in fact be the case the that questions of belief, attitude, understanding and truth are more complex and that if Moncrieff wishes that people could be facilitated in “thinking for themselves” he should embrace a little more nuance?
Let me try a few counter propositions to his examples of wrong thinking. A small number of powerful corporations and very wealthy individuals have undue influence on governments, institutions and the lives of individuals. The migration of citizens of poor countries to Europe, and their integration therein, represents an overwhelming challenge that demands an open, national and international, discourse that includes all stakeholders.
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The understandable fear in the face of the recent pandemic, combined with the illusion of scientific certainty and the power of the transnational medico and pharmaceutical industry, gave rise to an atmosphere within which all questioning or dissent was met with hostility and ridicule.
There are political, cultural, economic and social factors intersecting in respect of these matters and the space for legitimate discourse is at a premium. For the avoidance of doubt let me be clear: I believe our democracy continues largely to function well, I welcome migrants to Ireland, and I was grateful for the early development of the Covid vaccines. Furthermore, I deplore much of the behaviour of participants at recent anti-migrant protests. However, a simple binary characterisation of the current unrest as a matter of truth versus falsehood is simplistic and profoundly unhelpful. – Yours, etc,
CON LYNCH,
Schull,
Co Cork.