I don’t know about anyone else, but lately, it seems that no matter the topic when I’m having a discussion with another person, it appears we end up talking past each other. It’s as if one of us is avoiding whatever is being discussed entirely. Not that the other person replies talking about dishwashers when I have brought up microwaves – they’re both appliances – but they have entirely different functions, and even pretending we’re talking about the same thing sometimes gives me a headache. When this occurs, I try to think of the possibilities as to why and I always seem to settle on at least three: The other person has no idea what I’m talking about; I haven’t been stated clearly enough what I’m getting at; They’re completely disinterested in what I have to say and only bring something up related, to mollify me long enough to walk away.

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I’ve written in these pages that I believe that everyone is a skeptic. I think that’s true without exception. No matter the walk in life, there are people that are skeptical about many different subjects and it has nothing to do with religious belief or those of us that are non-religious. We all certainly have our own biases, as individuals or in certain groups, but that doesn’t nullify skepticism. In fact, /i would challenge anyone to find a person that isn’t skeptical about something, whether it is Bigfoot, or Ancient Aliens, or anywhere in between, we all have our doubts about something we read or hear about at one time or another.

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Is it possible for someone to be “too skeptical”? Or as I have referred to it as being “hyper-skeptical”? I’m not sure simply because my understanding is that someone that is too or hyper-skeptical is someone thst questions everything, even the most simple, obvious of assertions. I’ve never met anyone like that. I’m not saying that person doesn’t exist, just I have no experience in interacting with anyone like that. I’ve certainly met people that were, in areas, more skeptical than I am, but then, I may have been the same with them. Is there a line to be drawn or is it just a personal perception that we may have of another person? I tend to lean toward the latter.

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People are becoming more skeptical everyday. Not that those people would necessarily claim to be skeptics in any definition of the word, but all any of have to do is talk to our colleagues, friends, and neighbors to get a sense of where we are now in our trust of what we hear or read. A perfect example is the [trust in the media], which is at an all-time low in the United States. This should be concerning for everyone, since this is the way that we receive news about our government, society, and the world. When people become skeptical the news, we have a problem. These people that produce and report on affairs of the day have the widest reach into our everyday lives and when we become unable to trust what we’re being told, that should not only be a wakeup call to the media themselves, but for us as well.

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