FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: Avoiding The Social Media Rumor Mill

By VERNON ROBISON

An old saying states that in a small town the faintest whisper can be heard a mile away. Such is the power of the small town rumor mill.

Nowadays a strange phenomenon is taking place. Modern social media has begun generating a “small-town rumor mill” of its own, only on a vast global scale. Whether you live in Mesquite, Moapa Valley, Las Vegas, La Paz, or Lahore, social media makes us all neighbors. And everything under the sun is fair game for gossip.

Unfortunately, most of the information generated by any rumor mill, great or small, is unreliable. Most of it is either gross over-simplification, ignorant miscommunication or willful untruth. Who knows where this stuff comes from? But whether they are sparked to get attention, or are part of some covert agenda to cause harm, when false rumors get just the right mixture of fuel and oxygen they can quickly flare into a major conflagration. When such a wildfire of national social media rumor begins licking up against the perimeter of essential local institutions, it merits careful consideration.

One such flare-up involves the recent social media murmurings regarding The Salvation Army USA. The allegation is that some faction of leadership in this Christian organization has become newly “woke.”

Succumbing to “left-wing politics,” they are supposed to have embraced concepts of critical race theory in newly-published training materials. The implication is that Salvation Army is using donor funds to spread the gospel of “woke-ism” throughout American society.

Of course, these are serious allegations. True or not, they have had an impact on the organization’s reputation. This in turn has reportedly caused a chilling effect on volunteerism and holiday giving for The Salvation Army nationwide. The effects have even been felt, if only in a small way, right here in the local area.

But are these rumors really true? That is less clear. The devil is always in the details, and frankly the details in this case are rather dubious. The most salacious claims are being made only on right-wing social media channels and their commenters. But the verifiable details there are pretty thin.

The Salvation Army itself released a statement late last month insisting that the training materials in question were meant merely to encourage discussion about racism among Salvation Army members, not to indoctrinate donors. “The hope is that by openly discussing these issues, we can encourage a more thoughtful organization that is better positioned to serve those in need,” the statement reads.

All of this raises many more questions than it answers. But here is a question that hits right where the rubber truly hits the road. Have these “revelations” in any way affected how this charitable institution is serving its purpose right here in Mesquite? Of course, the honest answer is ‘Absolutely not!’

Even if there were some subversive attempt in distant California communities to sew reverse racist doctrines among Salvation Army organizations (which, frankly, is pretty far-fetched), there has been no trace of that here in Mesquite. The administrators and volunteers at The Salvation Army of Mesquite are all local, upstanding residents who are fully dialed in to local needs and preferences. They have no time for perpetuating some nefarious leftist agenda that is so obviously unpalatable and irrelevant in the Mesquite community. Instead, they are way too busy keeping the poor and disadvantaged of Mesquite fed, clothed and housed.

So how should this information from the social media rumor mill change the way local folks interact with, volunteer in, and give to this important institution this holiday season? The answer: It really shouldn’t affect it at all!

Rumor mill or not, The Salvation Army of Mesquite remains one of the community’s most prominent and essential providers of charitable resources and social services. It’s sudden absence, should the community cease supporting it, would be felt deeply and painfully.

What’s more, the holiday season of giving is pivotal to the well-being of The Salvation Army of Mesquite. The institution depends on it in order to function. The holiday kettle drive, with its characteristic bell-ringing, red apron-wearing volunteers, is the local organization’s most important fundraiser of the year.
‘Where do those funds go after they are dropped in the kettle?’ you may ask. ‘How much of it goes to fund leftist ideologies?’ The answer is: None of it.

The FACT is that every penny dropped into those holiday kettle out in front of Mesquite shops this Christmas, goes directly to fund the Salvation Army of Mesquite and all of its efforts right here in town. There is no cut sent off to Salvation Army central headquarters. The local donations all stay local…every cent of them.

So why would some sketchy social media rumor, alleging something that is supposed to have happened hundreds of miles away, negatively affect Mesquite’s rich tradition of giving to support this amazing organization? It shouldn’t!

None of the social media allegations can sully the good work the local Salvation Army staff does every day in the community. None of it can negate the lift that The Salvation Army gives, year in and year out, to the needy and downtrodden of Mesquite. And no vicious rumor can release the community from an obligation to support such an important institution and its essential mission.

There is a teaching found in the New Testament, that covers cases just like this. In the Last Times when confusing circumstances call the truth about something into doubt, Jesus taught his disciples how to discern the real truth. “By their fruits ye shall know them,” He said.

Rather than being blown about by every wind of social media, wouldn’t Mesquite residents be better off taking an honest assessment of the fruits being produced by The Salvation Army of Mesquite and its local staff? What has been accomplished by this institution over its many years of service here? Those fruits are well documented, verifiable, clear and easy to see.

Those fruits are what the people of Mesquite should base their support on; rather than on the black and withering vine of the social media rumor mill.