“What is truth? Is truth unchanging law? We both have truths, are mine the same as yours?” – Pontius Pilate in “Jesus Christ, Superstar”
Sorry Pontius – you can have your own opinions, but NO ONE
gets to have their own FACTS.
I took a couple of social studies classes back in my teens
that I really enjoyed – “Western Civilization” and “Comparative Political and
Economic Systems.” The real purpose of the course wasn’t to teach a list of
historical facts – it was to teach the skill of reasoning and discernment (THINKING),
sifting through disparate accounts of an event and judging what really happened.
A good skill for someone looking into the distant past and reading between the
lines of what little was written to find the truth.
You would think that this skill wouldn’t be needed nowadays,
with all the information that’s now available to us, but instead it’s the
opposite. Not only do you have to weed through mountains of un-vetted material
on the internet, but journalism has been dead for quite some time, so you have
to observe your news sources carefully to see past their agenda to what the
real story is.
How did we lose the truth? It was twisted when the mainstream
media was taken over by people who engaged in group-think and agenda-based
reporting. They only report what serves their narrative, and sweep what
disproves it under the rug.
That is not NEWS REPORTING – that is PROSTLETIZING. Or is it
PROSTITUTION? (Actually, it’s both.)
It’s like Orwell’s “1984” – if the source of information is
under control, and a false narrative is spun as fact, how could the rare person
who remembered the truth remain sane? In our politically correct world, anyone
who goes against the narrative is persecuted until they either recant or are
driven into the gutter.
Where do we find THE TRUTH these days? Under the surface,
behind the words, hidden where you have to search for it. Be distrustful of any
narrative that is bent on suppressing opinions or facts that disprove their
claims. FREE SPEECH means OPEN DEBATE; don’t rely on just one source or one
view, no matter how much they denigrate or bury their opposition.
Some common sense observations:
·
Science is almost never settled, and certainly not
by suppressing contradictory test results; science attempts to reconcile ALL
the facts, not just the ones that support the theory.
·
If an agreement that allows a sponsor of terrorism
to get nukes is good for America, then it should be able to withstand bipartisan
debate in the Senate.
·
If the answer to every policy disagreement is to
shout RACISM at opponents, or to assassinate their character rather than
defending the policy, maybe the policy isn’t defensible on its own.
·
People with a vested interest in a narrative
should not be trusted as the only source, no matter how much you like them or
align with them politically.
The most important tool you have is your mind, and you have to
keep it sharp to make the most of it. It’s fine for others give you facts and
express their opinions, but don’t let them tell you what to THINK. A mind is a
terrible thing to waste. Don’t let others abuse yours; use it or lose it.
Just
saying…
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