The Narrow Lens

I am a curious person. My husband often says nobody is "just asking". He says there is always an agenda underlying a question. I disagree. Many of us just want to know more. We want to understand. I want to be able to make my own decisions based on all of the facts. I believe this is part of the reason I've never fully leaned into a particular political party, as my opinions often fall into the "gray" or moderate area.

Lately, I've become more and more frustrated because I don't feel like I can get an accurate, unbiased account of what is happening in our country. I regularly read the New York Times and I follow several other news outlets online, including NPR, CNN and BBC. My husband follows additional news outlets, including Reuters and The Economist. Interestingly, Fox news is often playing on the television in the physician lounge in my hospital, so I will catch those news stories while I'm waiting for my coffee to brew. As you can imagine, the spin on the same stories can be significantly different from one news source to another. Often, I'll bring up something I read with my husband and he will counter with multiple points that I was unaware of regarding the exact same topic. Not only is this incredibly frustrating, but I find it absolutely terrifying. As citizens of this country, we deserve to know all of the information without the sensationalism and bias that inevitably causes us to have a strong emotional response. This narrow lens is happening on both sides of the political arena and is part of what is tearing this country apart. The information most of us receive is riddled with opinion. That bias paired with the always present sensationalism that invokes a strong emotional response is going to cause the reader to develop an immediate opinion, that they often do not question. People are no longer having discussion about differing opinions, rather they are accusing and attacking those who do not agree with them.

This phenomenon goes beyond politics. I see it in my world regarding topics such as gender identity and sexual education. As a pediatrician, who practiced in an office setting for almost twenty years, I have seen a handful of transgender patients. (Yes, a HANDFUL. This is not a large percentage of the population, as some have been led to believe.) In my experience, these children are often identified early in life. It is frequently clear by the time a child understands gender differences, that they identify as something other than their gender assigned at birth. None of my patients who are transgender had any type of surgery prior to adulthood and only a very few started hormone therapy after completing puberty. All of the patients who underwent hormone therapy had better mental health living as their identified gender. So, it is no surprise that I believe in gender affirming care, in that patients, families and healthcare providers should be the ones dictating the medical care of these individuals - not politicians. I have taught puberty education and reproduction in a religious institution for years and despite the fact that I have never veered from the approved curriculum, certain parents refused to allow me to teach because my personal beliefs differed from theirs.

Someone recently posted that a lack of religion was what was fueling the pornography epidemic in our country. Don't get me wrong, I love religion and consider myself a Christian who also practices Buddhist philosophies. I think religion provides a sense of purpose, morals, community and accountability. But I think more than a lack of religion, rather a neglect of education is what is fueling the pornography problem in this country. Teaching morals in sexuality is obviously imperative, but there also needs to be specific discussions about what pornography is and why it is unhealthy. Only a small minority of parents in the United States discuss this with their children. This is often because of a "my child would never . . . " mentality. And, maybe they won't ever purposefully seek out pornography, but there is a near 100% chance they will encounter it at some point. Not educating them is neglectful and naive.

We, as a society, need to widen our lens. We need to look at things from all angles and ask questions. We need to listen to others who disagree with us, not just to respond, but to understand. And, we need to teach our children to do the same.