How do I Know?

Readers of this blog know that we visited Yellowstone National Park in early May of this year. However, some weeks before the trip, at least three concerned friends and family members asked us how we could safely visit Yellowstone since the newly elected administration had dismissed all of the park rangers? How could we even think of making such a trip, given the dangers and lack of maintenance to be found in an unstaffed national park?

We keep track of the news pretty well, but had heard nothing of DOGE reviews or any other federal action that would lay off all the rangers. So we checked our usual news sites. Nothing. Poked around on social media. Nothing, except some mention of a letter by the park superintendent saying that rumors of layoffs were false. We checked the park web pages but could not fine the supposed letter, nor could we find any mention of staffing changes. Finally, we checked the Association of Park Rangers (or whatever that group is called) and learned that there was a temporary hiring freeze in place, but few if any positions had been cut. As a former national lab worker, I knew from personal experience that nearly every new administration starts out with a hiring freeze that could last for days, weeks, or even months, so that did not worry me. Bottom line: contrary to what our friends and family members were led to believe, there were still rangers at Yellowstone, and the park was fully staffed for that time of year. In fact, when we visited in May, we verified this with a couple of rangers, and we saw two groups of new (summer) employees going through orientation.

One of my five sisters-in-law had raised the alarm about “no park rangers.” When we told her about our visit, we also mentioned what we learned about the staffing situation. She realized she had been misled, and asked, “How do I know” what is true to avoid being misled again. That was a good question, and we don’t have easy answers. However, here is what we suggested:

First, use your critical thinking skills and ask lots of questions. Questions like what is it, why did it happen or why will it happen, and how do you know. If things don’t add up or if somethings seems fishy, and the topic is important to you, keep digging. You are smarter than you give yourself credit for, you are literate, and you have the tenacity to find out the truth. And if the story comes from “they said” or from an “unnamed source,” hold on to your wallet!

Second, and if it is important enough to warrant your time and energy, consult multiple sources. Like it or not, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Not the Bee, World Magazine, Epoch Times, Al Jazeera, the news aggregators, and all the others each put their own personal spins on news, they often write headlines with a slant to favor their world view, and they tend to either downplay or completely omit news that does not support their narratives. Compare how they cover things like an inflation report, crime in Chicago, or war in the Middle East (to name but three examples) and you will start to see the differences. You need to distill the truth from the information coming at you.

Third, realize that while “the truth will out,” as a family proverb says, it may take time for the whole story to come to light. The news cycle will try to reach its desired conclusion and move on to the next marketable story (they do have to make a living somehow), but there may be more information that will come out in the next day, week, or month. We can afford to take a long view and look past the hair-on-fire hype that the networks dish out.

Finally, please do not give up on your concerns for others, and please realize that we know Him who has all of us, from the greatest to the least or us, in the palm of His hand. He knows the past, present, and future, and He has our good in mind. There will be wars and rumors of wars; there will be earthquakes, fires, and floods; and there will even be visitors gored by bison in Yellowstone (every tourist season, apparently), but we can hope because of Him.