When you don’t speak up in a clear and logical way against deleterious ideas you are enabling their spread. There is a clear and concerted misinformation campaign that is being perpetrated by numerous parties. It has been extremely effective up to this point.

Don’t let people make statements that are factually incorrect without being questioned about it. Don’t let people increase the importance of an unimportant thing. Don’t let someone with an agenda guide the conversation. Don’t let someone who has been influenced by someone with an agenda fulfill that broader agenda by poisoning the conversation.

For instance, the untrue statements below all have the same impact to a conversation and an observer with no prior information’s views on a topic.

• Muslims are dangerous
• Muslims kill 1,000 people on American soil every day
• Muslims shouldn’t be allowed in this country for our safety
• Muslims are not like us

Every single one of those statements will make someone who does not have a prior idea of what a Muslim is think negatively of Muslims. You can immediately correct the obviously inaccuracy in statement 2, but all 4 statements can be just as damaging to someone’s belief system.

If cars were brought up in conversation with the below points consistently and you had never seen one before, you’d be damn afraid of cars.

• Cars are dangerous and have the power of hundreds of horses
• 2,100,000 or more people will die in your lifetime due to a car accident
• Cars should be banned for our safety
• Cars kill more people in their sleep than any other cause

Don’t let people frame the conversation against cars. Speak up when you see people focusing on fear.

Focus on the need for a smaller government. Part of that is not spending money on harassing and spying on its citizens.