I’ve long made the case that it’s lazy thinking to dismiss information because of the source.

“Where did you hear that? Fox News?”

“Is that what MSNBC told you?”

It goes on…

The fact is, discounting a source, or assuming they’re lying is lazy thinking and stunting your own ability to learn, develop, and possibly change.

The way people dismiss news sources, you’d think if Fox News reported our Supreme Court has nine judges, some would accuse them of lying just because it’s Fox News. (Our Supreme Court does have nine judges, for the record…)

Fast forward to Joe Strummer. By accident, I happened to overhear a Joe Strummer interview in which he was talking about those who dismiss music because it’s not “genuine.”

He said, “Take Grandmaster Flash, “The Message.” He’s speaking for his music. I don’t care who it is. Give me Steve Miller. If he’s going to speak for his music, I’ll take that.”

“I can’t stand purists. They went on about the blues. Can blue men sing the white. Can white men sing the blues. Is this genuine R&B? Or is this hyper-fake. Who cares?”

“This is for purists. I can’t stand purists.”

“Does it speak the truth or is it a waste of time? I don’t care if it’s a chorus of choir girls with tinker bells jangling. If they spoke the truth, if they spoke from the heart, it would be it. And there’s no saying it isn’t.”

I would amend that a bit to say it’s “their” truth: meaning, it’s their experience. Their perspective.

When we’re quick to dismiss information because it doesn’t fit our standard or narrative, we’ve essentially made the conscious decision to stop evolving and stop growing.

That’s what the Bubbler is all about. This is my truth.