Commentary: Don’t be fooled by false ‘facts’

In response to Gary Myers’ misleading and propagandizing commentary in the Sept. 7 Ramona Sentinel (Study Indivisible’s real goals), I did what he recommended. I vetted his commentary.

George Soros, a philanthropist who was painted as a Nazi collaborator by Dr. Myers, was born in 1930. That would mean he was an 8-year-old child when Kristallnacht occurred. He would have been 11 years old when Pearl Harbor was bombed and the U.S. entered the War, 12 when the U.S. freed Paris, and 15 when Hitler committed suicide after the defeat of Germany.

Please, Ramona neighbors, do your research before reacting to commentaries such as the one submitted by Myers. Such perpetuation of hoaxes and false information applies to other claims in tha commentary. It’s a simple thing to intentionally perpetuate a hoax in order to discredit an individual or associate that individual with a larger group in order to discredit a mass of people. It is also a simple thing to find facts.

Searching the Internet for articles on George Soros will yield a plethora of information. Some will laud his significant philanthropy on behalf of organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Organization for Women, the Tides Foundation, and other organizations with similar/shared ideals. Other articles will vilify him for that same philanthropy. It all depends, of course, on the political perspective and personal values of the writer.

The great and divisive differences that are abundant in our nation must not, however, be seen as justification of false narratives. We have to stand up to this.

Read past the headlines! A productive first step toward reconciliation and hope for America is that we all take the time to identify reliable sources of information (also easily researched on the Internet). We mustn’t succumb to a dependency on those media outlets that we absolutely know in our hearts are taking advantage of angry and lazy information consumers.

We are at risk as a nation when Truth is devalued in the interest of generating scorn and hatred.

Carol Tennebaum, a retired educator, is a Ramona resident.