Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

We live in the age of information and the contribution of the computer. It has been a great gift, advancing human knowledge and the collection of data. It has cut the time of many projects (e.g., mapping the human genome DNA). However, a phrase that has been used to express one’s reliance on the processed data that emerges from a computer was GIGO — ­ garbage in, garbage out. It was a reminder that the information that’s received is only as reliable as the accuracy of the information that was “input”. It may seem like a simple statement, but during the age of information we rarely check to see if the response to our inquiries is based on factual or accurate information. In other words, we take for granted that the resources are reliable and truthful. Many individuals regularly check the presentation of their names and scrub the internet, checking for fake input that might demean their character. The person who is being mischaracterized may have no clue of a false misrepresentation, and unless it is challenged it remains and is believed. This was often the idea behind the printed news media assertion, “It must be true, it was in the news.” We are beginning to realize that just because it is reported, that does not mean it is reported with accuracy or truth. A number of lives have been ruined by misrepresentation and mischaracterization, and rarely if ever does a person regain their good name.

Just because we have access to a larger number of channels to watch does not mean that we have increased our entertainment interest.  There was a cartoon published just after satellite dish receivers began to be promoted and sold. In it, a man was leaning over his fence talking to his neighbor under the shadow of his huge satellite dish. “Yeah, Fred,” he said, “750 channels and not a darn thing to watch.” (I cleaned up the darn.) Just because you have access to a larger number of viewing sites does not mean that they are of any more interest. When television channels started to multiply, that did not mean the quality of television had improved. There was just more opportunity to place “junk”. It was Newton Minnow, former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, who coined the phrase, “Television, the vast wasteland.” We do not all have to like the same thing, but quality is a factor that needs consideration, not just available space.

You reap what you sow.  It is a good reminder of the necessity to make sure that the information we feed into our minds and souls is both truthful, and possesses quality. GIGO should give way to QIQO ­— quality in, quality out. In this way, we avoid falling prey to ideological arguments that contain presentation contrary to the truth that is revealed and taught by our faith.

What profits a person if they gain the whole world, but lose their soul. For some, this may seem extreme, but the most important responsibility we have is to seek our salvation. We do so by preserving the truth. Our salvation has been offered to us through the person of Jesus Christ. Following His word through the teachings of the Church, and the example of the saints, gives us the quality assurance of the truth that affirms the way, the truth and the life as experienced in the manner that we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Note: This blog originally appeared as the July 20, 2021 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.