In computer circles there was an expression “Garbage in, garbage out.” It meant that if you put bad data into a computer, you got bad data out.

I am often bemused and disturbed by radical differences in the interpretation of current events by me and some of my friends.  We look at the same national and international happenings, but we see them from entirely different perspectives.  These are intelligent, well-educated people.  Why are our viewpoints so different?

I am convinced that our differences are mainly the result of different news sources.  There are very few programs that present straight, unbiased news.  Most of them have a slant, either left or right.  Not only are the stories slanted, they are very selective.  Sometimes I am astonished to find that someone I know is completely unaware of a news story that is getting major coverage on some channels, and vice versa.

I cannot affirm that my sources are better than anyone else’s.  I look for reporters I think I can trust, but perhaps I am being fed a cartload of lies.  Or it may be that my friends are the ones being misled.  Only time will reveal the truth.

In the meantime, it’s “garbage in, garbage out.”  With the question being, who is eating the garbage?