Context Matters
It’s true, since the War on Iran broke out, the price for crude oil has jumped, now around $100 per barrel. To hear some analysts, these are sky-high rates that should not be tolerated, and it’s all President Trump’s fault.
Here’s where context matters. Those same folks didn’t say a word when the cost of oil topped $130 per barrel when Joe Biden was president.
Headlines blare about Trump’s approval rating slipping in the polls. True, it’s lower now than when he took office for his second term, and in many surveys it’s under 50 percent approval. Analysts are predicting doom and gloom and a complete erosion of support for the president.
Again, here’s where context matters. If you compare Trump’s current level with where Barack Obama was polling at the same point in his second term, Trump has a higher approval rating. And if you compare Trump’s current level with where George W. Bush was polling at the same point in his second term…you guessed it, Trump has a higher approval rating.
When I taught journalism students, I used to take a glass and put some water in it…then ask the students to describe the glass. Some said it was half-full; others said it was half-empty.
I would tell them they were all wrong…because the correct answer was that there were 8 ounces of water in a 16-ounce glass. To characterize it in any other way was injecting opinion or bias, even if inadvertent.
So when anyone starts trotting out numbers…compare them to something relevant. Often interesting to see what a different perspective you may have.
