He who establishes his argument by noise and command shows that his reason is weak. – Michel Montaigne
Given that the purpose of the father of lies is to steal, kill, and destroy (Joh 8:44 and 10:10) and that his preferred tool of the trade is the lie (Gen 3:1), it is vital that we are teaching our children to think critically. Begin with these simple steps:
1) Do they know to check sources to verify whether a thing asserted is true, and do they know how to check sources?
2) Do they realize the purpose of the media in this day and age is to sell a personal agenda?
These Six Corporations Control 90% of the Media in America
3) Do they practice identifying logical fallacies in print and in speech?
What is Logic?
Your Logical Fallacy Is …
4) Do they practice writing persuasively, using appropriate principles of logic?
Clear and Simple as the Truth: Writing Classic Prose
Parents, you can do this together with your children, and you don’t need another textbook to begin! Learn by doing together. Start with a few basic principles of logic, and a few of the most common fallacies. Pick out articles from the paper, on the Internet, or from transcripts of speeches. Independently verify the sources, check for logical fallacies, and rewrite on the same topic with corrected logic. You will both learn with practice!
John Swinton’s quote is circling around the Internet with varying degrees of accuracy. Using critical thinking skills, I independently verified sources and can testify that the quote above is an accurate representation of it from the book, Labor’s Untold Story. If you would like to practice checking sources, start here:
John Swinton – Wikipedia
John Swinton: Yes, he said it, but …
Labor’s Untold Story
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