Post #7: The Progressive Era

The start of anti-war movements date all the way back to America's birth. Almost every war that has ever occurred in the United States has brought with it some type of anti-war movement. 

The Anti-Vietnam War Movement at the University of Michigan, 1965-1972. 

Probably one of the most well-known and significant anti-war movements was the Revolutionary War, when a small minority of American colonists were in favor of the British crown. Approximately 500,000 colonists were Loyalists and 19,000 made up the arms against the patriots. A numerous amount of Loyalists took off to Canada and other parts of the British empire after the revolution. Quakers wanted no part in the war even though they were at risk for persecution by the patriots and the Loyalists. 

Along with this, they even refused to pay taxes or use paper money that was issued by the Second Continental Congress. Later on, there would be movements for the War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, and more. 

Nowadays, unfamiliar websites like Antiwar.com and The American Conservative are used by people who have strong anti-war voices and are not usually heard in the mainstream news. This is potentially due to economy not being as stimulated now like it was during WWII. During WWII, the economy went through a "boom," meaning there was an expansion in industrial productions, job creations, and a rise in consumer spending. 

I think we have to seek out obscure websites in order to hear strong anti-war voices because it is a dissenting view point to the mainstream. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans are anti-war, but instead they are both eager to boost military spending and deepen American commitments abroad. 

This chart shows the decline in the anti-war movement with the Democratic Party because of Partisanship.

Anti-war movements are very important in our world as they challenge the authority of governments to wage war and even promote alternative solutions to conflict resolutions. To add to this, they raise awareness about the human cost of war, trauma, and even loss of life. They then can lead to policy changes like the removal of troops from a conflicted war zone. 

Post #9: EOTO #2 (Confirmation Bias)

 What is it?

Confirmation bias is a form of cognitive bias. It is described as "the tendency to process information by looking for or interpreting information that aligns with our existing beliefs."

This bias is something that we as humans we are unaware of as it is a natural response when watching or reading news. When we are watching or reading the news, we are much more likely to agree with information that matches we want to be true and less likely to agree with information that confirms our beliefs. This starts the trend of “fake news” in the world today. We may begin to spread misinformation to our friends and family of news topics that we really want to believe are true but aren’t.

Signs

There are many signs of ways in which confirmation bias can come into play according to VeryWellMind:

1. Not seeking our objective facts

2. Interpreting information to support existing beliefs

3. Only remembering details that uphold your beliefs

4. Ignoring information that doesn't challenge your beliefs

Types

To break down confirmation bias, there are three different types of categories: biased attention, biased interpretation, and biased memory. Biased attention is when we selectively center our attention on information that confirms our views while dismissing data that doesn’t. Biased interpretation is when we consciously interpret information in a certain way that confirms our beliefs. Biased memory is when we selectively remember information that supports our views while ignoring information that doesn’t.

Most people who go through confirmation bias are close minded as they only want to look for information that doesn’t challenge their opinions and beliefs. The first step to do when coming to terms with your confirmation bias is to tackle it head on and openly realize you have it. The next thing is to guard yourself against confirmation bias and try to be more open minded to credible sources with information on topics that will help you be able to get the full picture of an issue instead of only seeing one side. Seek out different perspectives from those who hold opposing views than yours and consider all of the evidence available. 

In order to fully understand the concept of confirmation bias, let's cover several examples of how confirmation bias comes to play in several aspects of our everyday lives.

For example, if we support a certain political candidate, then we are most likely to believe news stories that shed a positive light on them but ignore the stories that are critical and may show them in a more negative light. Confirmation bias is even present in our relationships. For instance, we may befriend someone who shares the same beliefs and values as us and not be open to befriending someone who doesn’t. As a result, this can lead to an echo chamber effect, a concept the previous group mentioned, because we only are able to hear information that confirms our views and never have our opinions altered. In addition, confirmation bias can oftentimes lead to bad decision making. The source, VeryWellMind gives the example of if you are set on getting a job at a particular company, then you may not consider the other opportunities that are awaiting you and may be better fit.

All things considered, confirmation bias has a great impact in our everyday lives and being able to avoid it isn’t possible. While it is mostly viewed as bad, it gives us a source of confidence and certainty to be firm in our beliefs.