Get the Facts

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the old adage "haste makes waste." This saying is one of the essential messages in chapter five of unSpun. Specifically, it relates to the story of Daniel Bullock. Bullock was a reputable doctor in California until he was part of a tax evasion scam. Evidently, Bullock thought he could legally avoid paying his taxes. In reality, he was just dealing with a smooth-talking scammer who told Bullock what he wanted to hear. What the good doctor neglected to do, however, was research the facts. I find it hard to believe that such an educated man would believe such a crazy trick. I guess money matters make people do things they wouldn’t normally do. It just goes to show that propaganda and fraud are always around us—from television ads to deceptive money saving “tips.”

I like that the title of the chapter is “Facts Can Save Your Life.” It really emphasizes that people need to dig deep for the truths out there. After all, as this chapter suggests, once we get past the lies, we can see what is really happening politically, medically, and socially in our world. Still, people construct their own truths and hear what they want to hear. The only way we will be able to hear everything is if we take down our blinders. I agree with the authors of unSpun in that being open to getting the facts right “can save your money, your health, even your freedom” (84).