Just a rant, about a story told to me in the midst of fake news causing all kinds of problems.
I was talking to a doctor the other day. He told me an unbelievable thing, but it represents something that’s becoming common now.
He said that his daughter lives in a state where their gardening season is longer. She and her husband were collecting rain water to use on their garden. A neighbor of hers told her she’d better stop doing that, because the president had ruled it illegal to collect rain water.
WHAT! What? How can people believe things that seem so far fetched, and what happened to people checking on things that seem so unbelievable? What has happened to common sense?
There’s a Part 2 to this disgusting story.
The doctor had a representative of a drug company in his office the other day. An intelligent (?) adult, representing a pharmaceutical company, going out to talk to doctors about their products. Somehow they got discussing gardening and the doctor began telling the drug rep about his daughter collecting rainwater. The drug rep said to the doctor, Oh! She’d better stop doing that! The president passed a law making it illegal to collect rainwater!
Seriously. We need to not believe everything we read or hear. I know, it must be true, it was on the internet! Is that our new mantra? Is that all we know, or care about?
There’s a word I like that represents a dangerous concept. Sheeple.
Sarasin's thoughts....... 
I so agree with you. We can’t even trust the old reliable fact check sites anymore. The most troubling part is that the really young will grow up only knowing the lies, not the truth, unless enough people speak up for truth in internet.
People don’t seem to care whether they check things out, and that’s really scary.
It sure is scary. Lies can be so dangerous.
These days–it is very difficult to ascertain what is true and what is false, or what is a mixture of truth and lies. There is an 2015 article in the Washington Post with the title “It is actually illegal in Colorado to collect the rain that falls on your home.” But the article also says that this is a rule that dates back 150 years, back to the Gold Rush days. So, this rule was definitely NOT put into effect by the current president.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/03/24/it-is-actually-illegal-in-colorado-to-collect-the-rain-that-falls-on-your-home/?utm_term=.4ce5bb559b22
That’s interesting. But with all the fake news around now, I think people are reacting to things that they are reading/hearing now, yea.
Wow! Now that’s a new one on me! The crazy things people believe never ceases to amaze me.
Unbelievable Jackie, I know. And that the doctor knew of 2 people believing it, oh my. Sometimes you just think your head will explode with all that’s happening.
Hi.
Just found this. I’m a bit late to the game. Also, as you know, the President can’t just enact a law all by himself. That would be an executive order. In today’s environment some court would challenge it.
Even when we got information from books and journals verification was important.
Sheeple’s a good term.