Saturday, October 11, 2008

Thoughts

Why does no one seem to be interested in truth anymore? Passionate and vehement defence of one's ideals is no longer defined by truth and facts - or objective information. It is defined by one's perceptions and feelings - or subjective ( i.e. personal) information. This, I believe, is the key to understanding the vitriolic state of political discourse in this country. Conservatives and liberals alike have ceased identifying any commonality with each other because of the fact that they are largely guilty of abandoning logic and objective information and have wholly invested themselves in a personal and subjective defense of their principles. They have emotionally and personally invested so much of themselves into their ideals that they can no longer separate the two. This makes constructive discourse nearly impossible, as any argument from either side can and will be construed as a personal attack. In many cases, especially at the most extreme poles of the political spectrum, opposing viewpoints are rarely heard or seen and if presented are largely rejected out of hand.

There are countless examples of people making false statements that are taken as factual due to the absolute conviction of the speaker. The perception is that the speaker is confident in their statements, therefore, they must be speaking the truth. No one, or very few people, take the trouble to check for themselves if the statement is actually true, especially if it agrees with their own personal ideals. If these false statements are bought wholesale by the media, then it perpetuates itself ad infinitum and frequently reinforces itself.

The First Post

I am starting this blog mostly in the interest of maintaining my sanity. I have few opportunities for political discourse and I have become so frustrated, discouraged and downright enraged by just about everything going on these days that I need some sort of release, or my head will likely explode. I doubt anyone will read this and frankly, I don't care. I merely want a little place to call my own; where I can maunder to my heart's content on the sick, sad state of the world at large. So, here it goes... we'll see if this endeavor will be as cathartic as I hope...