Fake news is not a different perspective

1/3/17: On New Year’s Day our very pleasant neighbor in our quite liberal neighborhood who is an esteemed physician was making the point that we should try to work with the incoming president. I suspect that he did not want to create controversy by saying he voted for The President-Elect and I saw this is an opportunity to learn and hopefully to get some constructive dialogue going. In fact, I responded in a way that I hope will become a model for anyone who is deeply concerned about a Trump Presidency:
Me: I certainly appreciate your good point that we need to end the divisiveness, however, what I am concerned about is that there is that there is a not an honest debate about pressing issues, rather there is a lot of misinformation going unchallenged being broadcast by biased groups.
Neighbor: Well, Trump’s nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt is simply asking for a reasonable debate on whether climate change is man-made or is caused by natural conditions.
I googled it and indeed there are scientists claiming that global warming is not man-made making many of the regulations that are hurting business unnecessary.
Me: Who most likely first came up in your google search is the scientist Roy Spencer at the George C. Marshall Institute. Those supporting this notion are very good at SEO so they can dominate the discussion. There is a great deal of room for debate about many important issues such as tax reform, education and the merit of charter schools, unions and other issues. There is no room, however, for debate about whether climate change is man-made. It is a fact that climate change is the greatest threat to our planet presently, and that the only scientists advocating that it is man-made are associated such “think tanks” as The George C. Marshall Institute which is totally funded by for-profit oil companies and the like.
Furthermore, this is very typical of the confusion that narcissists like to sow. It seems to me as a psychologist that these think tanks are born of narcissistic rage that these oil folks are having to alter their businesses for the common good. For what other reason would the government want to keep them from their usual business practice? We all have to modify our business practice to address incoming information. We respond responsibly without attacking others who seem to be standing in our way.
We went on to discuss other things and he listened politely. I don’t know whether I convinced him but he asked when we are all going out for dinner again and we departed greater friends than before.