Give Us Barabbas!

The Consequences of Groupthink, Part II

This is the second installment in a blog series concerning the consequences of Groupthink. If you haven’t read the first, I recommend doing so. It will provide the backdrop for understanding this first-of-four characteristics of Groupthink gleaned from the story of Barabbas—an infamous criminal—whom the religious leaders and crowd demanded to have Pilate release instead of Jesus. What follows are a number of my observations and their parallel to our lives today, along with the peril we face if we don’t wake up to the many ways we are all vulnerable to the influence of Groupthink. I will also include some practical suggestions on how to break free from this toxic form of collusion. 

One of the first things I noted about those who demanded Barabbas’ release was that: 

1. They believed what they heard.

The Jewish people heard their leaders denigrate Jesus over and over again, and they believed what they heard. After all, these were the religious leaders of their community—they should know! The messages they circulated among the people suggested that Jesus’s power to heal and cast out demons came from the devil himself! That Jesus blasphemed God because he called himself the Son of God. That he broke the law because he healed on the Sabbath and hung out with tax collectors and sinners. Who were they to question their authorities? The crowd accepted what they heard from the people they were supposed to trust!

Does this explain much of what is happening today in our country? A large swath of Americans and Christians appear to believe what they hear from their leaders, pastors, news sources, and friend groups without digging for the truth. We are all susceptible to confirmation bias, the tendency to interpret new evidence to validate what we already believe. It’s too easy to opt out of careful examination and honest soul-searching because it’s a lot of work. On top of that, it can be overwhelming!

But there’s another layer that complicates things even more. Not only are we becoming lazy in “doing our work” to investigate what we hear, we’re simultaneously experiencing the unprecedented explosion of disinformation! Disinformation, the spreading of fake news by political leaders, journalists, and foreign actors with the intention of misleading others is shockingly common. And there’s no more pointed example than the current President. Fact checkers at the Washington Post documented 30,573 false or misleading claims during Trump’s first presidential term, an average of about 21 per day! (And if you are tempted to say, “Well, all politicians lie,” that is a simplistic answer, which evades the overwhelming evidence that Donald Trump is a habitual liar.)

The Need for Critical Thinking

If there is a readily available antidote to this “perfect storm” created by the convergence of our indiscriminate listening and the spread of disinformation, it may well be the need to become critical thinkers.

“Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to make sound conclusions or informed choices.” “The goal of critical thinking is to form a judgment through the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation.”

It’s what truth-seekers do. It’s what responsible adults do.

So, what does this look like? Critical thinking requires that we slow down our reflexive responses to information, and we intentionally:

●      Hit pause before we believe, reject, or repost something that warrants our concern.

●      Investigate further, looking for evidence in other reliable news sources that confirms (or

contradicts) what we’ve heard or read.

●      Seek to understand the situation as fully as possible as a way to avoid getting whipped up by

information and acting out of fear and anger.

●      Connect our understanding to right action: we ask ourselves, “What is mine to do?”

Let me share an example. Just last week, I saw a post about Elon Musk’s takeover of the Department of the Treasury and the data breach of every American’s sensitive and personal information. I was immediately appalled and deeply concerned yet felt some caution. Is this true? So, I waited for verification. Within a few hours, several other reliable news sources confirmed what had happened. I read a full explanation by history professor Heather Cox Richardson and then asked myself, “What is mine to do?”

I had just learned about a brilliant app called 5 Calls. It provided more information about the situation, the phone numbers of my state senators and representative, and a script so that I could leave a message for them, which I did. While this kind of activism is a bit nerve-racking for me, afterward, I felt a deep sense of peace and solidarity.

Check Your Sources!

I’m sorry to say that this isn’t how most of us go about forming our opinions and responses. Instead, we typically make judgments based on our reflexive reactions. Do we like that person, or do we like what they’re saying? Does what they’re saying support what I already believe, what my people believe, or does it disagree? Does it make me feel comfortable or does it make me feel uncomfortable? Here we are in the “information age,” yet we still operate out of our own tribal mentality instead of searching for unbiased facts and unvarnished truth.

Now, you might argue, “That’s because you can’t find any sources of unbiased facts or unvarnished truth.”  And that is another example of disinformation! There are actually many journalists and sources of news whose reputation is dependent on accurate reporting. Do most news outlets have some bias? Sure. But there’s a range of biases from conservative and progressives. At one extreme, you’ll find misleading click baits heavily laced with sensational “fake” news. On the other hand, if you look for it, you will find responsible journalism with minimal partisan bias that undergoes constant scrutiny and fact-checking.  

You’ve likely seen this diagram, but look again and see where your main news outlet falls. If it’s not in the middle, then, for goodness' sake, change your “channel”! And if like me, you are serious about following Jesus, we really must heed his words and “pay attention to how we hear” ( Luke 8:18). How we hear affects what we hear. And we could all do with a thorough aural examination.

Thanks for listening! (No pun intended:) Stay tuned for Part III, and if you haven’t already, consider subscribing to our blog.

Warmly, Beth Booram