Vocal footnotes?  My proposal is to only make a political statement or argument that you believe to be fact only when you can specifically cite your source where your facts come from.

I don’t know about you. But I can’t recall all the times I’ve had a discussion with someone over a topic with someone to then realize they working from ridiculous argument as fact or hearsay. I love having robust political discussion with people. But getting into an argument with someone only to find out they there are full of highly dubious facts and hearsay, is a bit like being hot about a woman, getting hot and heavy, then suddenly finding out she has a penis.

Like me, you say, oh no, not again.
And with me, one of those happens a lot.

Seriously, the whole debate becomes a waste of time. You’re arguing with someone who heard some talking points some where and now repeats them confidently as fact. My post from last week that disputed those who claim the Bible says marriage is only the union between a man and a woman.  I gave several passages from the Old and New Testaments that clearly prove it’s not true.  Yet people use the statement (pardon the pun) as gospel.  It’s the the Bible. Some other favorites I’d had to deal with other the years.

2008: China is drilling for oil off the Cuban coast (so we better start drilling for oil)
2009 “Envoys” where these agents the president created to do secret things. (Envoys have been used in diplomacy since the time to Jefferson, it’s French for “To Send”)

That’s why I propose, (and I’ve started doing this my my conversations) vocally footnoting where are sourcing your information from.  For instance.  Those same  “marriage is a union between and man and a woman” wouldn’t be able to open their mouths in the first place. Because the passage doesn’t exist in the Bible. The people who say it are simply hoping you don’t call them out on it.  Or when the are willing to say the Bible says so, you could simply say “where?” Or look at the source yourself.

What the approach does is:
1. Makes people do their homework getting verified information before building and sharing a belief. So likely it will be more accurate or reasoned.
2. Provides accountability as you given other people the power to see if your statement is credible.
3. And if it is, give them to the source to find out even more.

Right now, people are too willing to rip and read their favorite pundit or blogs’ talking points and try them out at the coffee shop or the dinner the next morning. And I don’t know if you are. I’m tried of getting idiocy with my latte.