Getting To The Point.
Has our nation become so democratic that we no longer view the facts as facts, but just one side of the story?
Granted, there are those subjects that are better determined by opinion, emotion and experience, but in some cases there are defined sets of facts that are clearly stated, yet ignored because they conflict with what we want to believe.
I once saw an experiment where two people voted on the sex of a rabbit. Even though the two votes were different, neither changed the fact that the rabbit was male/female.
This is where I see one of the biggest problems we face today. Information. To find out the sex of the rabbit, all you have to do is raise its leg, but how do we find the truth in more important matters? Matters where money and power, and the need for financial support can sway the information we’re given.
If it’s important to you that you know the truth, you may spend countless hours scouring documents to get the one piece of information you’re looking for, but if it’s something that doesn’t really matter or effect you on a personal basis, you just go with whatever opinion you like best because it’s just too time consuming to do otherwise. Possibly perpetuating the spreading of false facts.
A personal example of this:
I once tried to find out statistics about heart and lung disease in my home town. I heard that we are near the top of the list of areas for high industrial pollution (it was in the local paper,) but trying to match that against, say... the effects of second hand smoke, was damn near impossible. Those statistics are out there, I know they’re out there. But because they conflict with popular opinion, they’ve either been buried, or are just not available to the general public.
A more recent example:
Something about the hearing involving Michael Brown just didn’t sound right to me. If he were actually guilty of not doing his job, then why wasn’t he fired immediately? No ‘ifs’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts’ the man had a specific job to do, if he didn’t do it, why is there a debate? It took me less than ten minutes to find out exactly what his job entails. While it seems pretty open on what FEMA is suppose to do (seems to be mostly financial aid and coordinating resources,) it is quite clear what duties FEMA is not responsible for. My suspicions were right, from what we were shown of the hearing on the news, his actual duties were not even addressed.
And those are just two examples of the breakdown of knowledge.
So my final question is this: As the general public, how do we go about getting the actual facts when it seems that the actual facts are no longer important? How do we go about demanding to be told the truth?
Granted, there are those subjects that are better determined by opinion, emotion and experience, but in some cases there are defined sets of facts that are clearly stated, yet ignored because they conflict with what we want to believe.
I once saw an experiment where two people voted on the sex of a rabbit. Even though the two votes were different, neither changed the fact that the rabbit was male/female.
This is where I see one of the biggest problems we face today. Information. To find out the sex of the rabbit, all you have to do is raise its leg, but how do we find the truth in more important matters? Matters where money and power, and the need for financial support can sway the information we’re given.
If it’s important to you that you know the truth, you may spend countless hours scouring documents to get the one piece of information you’re looking for, but if it’s something that doesn’t really matter or effect you on a personal basis, you just go with whatever opinion you like best because it’s just too time consuming to do otherwise. Possibly perpetuating the spreading of false facts.
A personal example of this:
I once tried to find out statistics about heart and lung disease in my home town. I heard that we are near the top of the list of areas for high industrial pollution (it was in the local paper,) but trying to match that against, say... the effects of second hand smoke, was damn near impossible. Those statistics are out there, I know they’re out there. But because they conflict with popular opinion, they’ve either been buried, or are just not available to the general public.
A more recent example:
Something about the hearing involving Michael Brown just didn’t sound right to me. If he were actually guilty of not doing his job, then why wasn’t he fired immediately? No ‘ifs’ ‘ands’ or ‘buts’ the man had a specific job to do, if he didn’t do it, why is there a debate? It took me less than ten minutes to find out exactly what his job entails. While it seems pretty open on what FEMA is suppose to do (seems to be mostly financial aid and coordinating resources,) it is quite clear what duties FEMA is not responsible for. My suspicions were right, from what we were shown of the hearing on the news, his actual duties were not even addressed.
And those are just two examples of the breakdown of knowledge.
So my final question is this: As the general public, how do we go about getting the actual facts when it seems that the actual facts are no longer important? How do we go about demanding to be told the truth?
posted by RT at 12:34 AM
10 Comments:
I heard it once said that there are truths, half-truths, lies and damn lies. Our job is to find out where certain facts get sorted. Vavoom himself has said that many scientific results are based off false data (which were probably based on another experiment that was based on another experiment, etc.) so we really have no idea. Polls are also looked at as factual but depending on the data sources could prove entirely false (2004 presidential exit poll.)
So, I do what I've heard all my life... believe little of what you read, hear and see but trust only what I know. Which really leaves me open to a lot of possibilities.
Martin, you know you're one of my favorites, right? :o)
That's part of the problem, we've been taught that there is some sort of middle ground. There is no middle ground, no grey area, when dealing with facts. We're either being told the truth, or we're being lied to. Point blank.
I understand that there is new information being found every day and that's a good thing, but what I ask is to be given the info without someone telling me how I should feel about it.
I am so tired of being lied to because someone out there thinks it's in my best interest (or theirs). Give me the facts and let me make up my own mind.
(BTW, I'm glad you pointed out what Vavoom has told us about his experience with scientific results. I didn't want to single him out as one source of info, but it did play a lot on my mind.)
You are one of my favorites, Vavoom! I was just kissing Martin's ass so he wouldn't think that I was dogging what he said...
And now I'm doing it to you :D
I didn't see your negative view as negative, at all. I realize that not everyone in the science field is corrupt or to a lesser degree, twisting a study or two, but you have to admit, it's kind of scary that anyone in the field would do that. However, I do find consolation in the fact that by the time a result get to our ears, there have been numerous studies done by several different scientist.
Anyway...
I like that idea, let's get some scientist in the public forum giving it to us straight! But how do we get the good ones away from their desk??? We already know the promise of sex won't do it ;o)
That's true. Vavoom doesn't react to being groped and flirted with at the desk well.
Btw, well stated Linny!
Yeah, but I'd be afraid of where you put the test tube.
I figured I'd throw a quick quip in about your "too much democracy line". I think there is some truth to that. Time was, politicians were expected to do, like, work. Too much of the time now, implemented laws seem to be mob rule instead of those at the helm rejecting what they know not to work.
Sorry I'm late to the "Martin and Vavoom" show. This is great stuff.
Was there a post here somehere?
Shhh, Fred. I'm waiting to see what Vavoom says :D
Vavoom: You're a flamer?
This is better than television.
Great post, RT. You are commenting on a huge problem, that has been around since, well, probably the beginning of time. We as the general public are on a "need to know" basis, as exemplified on your heart/lung disease. It's only been gotten to epidemic proportions because of the bombardment of information as someone else mentioned... there's so much junk out there it's hard to tell what is true, if any of it.
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