Walking in the Valley A bi-weekly column, featuring one Silicon Valley Christian's (a)musings on life's journey by Barbara Dahlgren

Check Out the Source Column for the weeks of March 1-15, 2009

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The Internet has given us a plethora of information at our finger tips. When I started as a journalist over thirty years ago in a small town in Kentucky it took six months to research even a minor subject. The task seemed endless: going to the library and using reference sources that couldn’t leave the library, searching archives, trying to get books on loan from bigger libraries, going to book stores in larger cities, and so on. Today I log onto my computer and with one click I have tons of facts about any given topic. Of course, one still must do their homework and check out these sources. Unfortunately, most of us feel that anything we see in print or on the Internet is totally accurate. This is not the case.

Nowhere is this more evident than with what people e-mail one another. One of the favorite authors to circulate the net is comedian George Carlin who passed away last year. His “supposed” treatises range on everything from aging to intolerance to the gas crisis. Snopes.com, a website that researches the source of urban legends, rumors, and the latest inspirational story making the e-mail rounds, says, “We’ve discovered just about any unsourced list of witty observations about politics and social mores will eventually become credited to George Carlin as it passes from inbox to inbox…”

Carlin’s Views on Aging says, “Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away...” Carlin’s Paradox of Our Time says, “We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values…” These are all lovely sentiments, but Carlin didn’t write them. In fact, Carlin denounces them on his website. This specific statement seems to sum up his view: “One of the more embarrassing items making the internet/e-mail rounds is a sappy load of #/?#! called The Paradox of Our Time. The main problem I have with it is that as true as some of the expressed sentiments may be, who really gives a #/?#! ? Certainly not me!”

Carlin may be dead but his undocumented legacy lives on because I just received another one of “his” pithy essays via e-mail.

One might ask, “What difference does it make?” A friend of mine tried to point out the error of what someone had forwarded to her mailbox. The reply was, “I don’t care. It’s a cute story.” Hmmm??? Is that the criteria we use for spreading unsubstantiated stories? If they are cute or inspirational then it’s okay to falsely attribute them to someone and send it worldwide?

I’ve received several prayers recently “supposedly” by Billy Graham that were “supposedly” aired by Paul Harvey that “supposedly” received a larger response to his radio program than he had ever gotten before. This beautiful prayer asks God’s forgiveness and seeks his guidance and direction for our country. The e-mail is entitled Billy Graham’s Prayer for Our Nation and prefaced with “This man sure has a good view of what’s happening to our country!” Well I’m sure Billy Graham does have a good view of what’s happening to our country, but he didn’t write this prayer.

To me, the most distressing part of this e-mail message was the ending which said, “Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your e-mail list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world!” Yes, just think about it! In less than 30 days you can spread false information to the whole world!

Think about this – the effectiveness of these stories is based on who we attribute them to. I don’t’ think we would be e-mailing Joe Schmoo from Hoboken’s Paradox of Time to everyone. No! We need a name everyone is familiar with to give the story clout. Pastor Korkel from Swamp Valley’s prayer for our country isn’t quite as inspiring as Billy Graham’s.

Am I opposed to passing on an inspirational story? God forbid! However, I am opposed to being so gullible we believe everything we hear or read. I am also opposed to passing on a good story credited to someone who didn’t write it.

If you think a story is worthy of passing along to another then, consider these options before you press “send.”

• Check out the story at scopes.com to see if it’s true.
• If the story is incorrect, e-mail it back to the person who sent it to you and tell them.
• Find out who the author is on the Internet.
• If you can’t find the author, then just send the story without an author listed.
• At the very least preface the story with, “I don’t know if this is true or not, but I found it inspiring.”

Having good intentions doesn’t justify spreading false information. If George Carlin were still living he might say, “The road to #$/?# is paved with good intentions.”

Be sure to visit this page often to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.