(c) Forbes
First, allow me to wish all moms out there a special Mothers' Day shout-out. Since yesterday was Mother's Day, I spent it with my wife, the mother of our two children rather than sitting down and writing a blog. I am sure most will forgive me. So, what to say about this week's activity out of the White House? The President fires the head of the FBI, his staff presents a litany of excuses and foundations for the firing and the President claims in a nationally televised interview that none of the reasons presented by his staff are accurate. (See: www.inauguration.com/videos/trump-contradicts-his-staff-on-how-he-decided-to-fire-comey/).
When pointing out how many inaccuracies have been presented by his staff during press conferences, the President simply says he cannot guarantee accuracy from his staff and hints that perhaps no further press conferences be held. What? Instead of embracing the long standing expectation that the President of the United States ensure what is given to the American public in the form of rationals for actions, the president threatened to cancel future press conferences. (See: www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/12/donald-trump-threaten-cancel-press-briefings-comey-firing/101587488/). So much for establishing the sincere effort of our president to ensure honesty and integrity is maintained in the White House! As I have been writing since President Trump's swearing-in, lying to the public will eventually blow up in his face. And it appears, for a majority of Americans, this is actually happening - despite the die-hard support from his supporters (somewhere in the 32-34% of voting Americans). What is truly sad are the ongoing efforts by many leaders in the Republican Party to normalize President Trump's actions as if they are what the voters wanted in electing him. I guess we shall see when the 2018 Mid-Terms Elections roll around to learn how many still support the President and his GOP sycophants.
Along those lines, I ran across an opinion piece addressing the reality some are claiming through the normalization and acceptance of "Alternate Facts" and how those also believe such lies are somehow worthy of discussion and consideration. I found the words from Brian Rosenberg, President of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota accurately convey what I have been thinking all along. Rather than paraphrase President Rosenberg, I think actually citing his article should say "it all." So here goes.
From the Article "The Beauty of Truth."
"...we have entered a dangerous new territory within which even the most basic truths have
become problematic. Did I say what I just said? Is 350 greater than 300?...Is this true? When
the question becomes "it depends" or "that's your opinion" or "I say otherwise and some people
agree with me, we have moved beyond... a world unimagined even in the darkest fever dreams of
George Orwell.
The causes of our crisis are not hard to find. Within the endless, dispirited landscape of the
Internet, one can find not just alternative facts, but alternative universes. Social media make it
possible to surround oneself with noise and insulate oneself from sense. The more extreme
forms of postmodern relativism severely damaged the idea of expertise and called into question
the common sense of the academy.
We have been for some time teetering on the edge of a complete loss of accepted truths and
complete indifference to the sticky inescapable facts. It took only an unprecedented amount of
shamelessness and cynicism, mixed with a dollop of sheer ignorance, to push us over the edge.
...The roots of complex thinking are buried deep in the soil of demonstrable fact: of science,
of history, of mathematics. What is the value of learning the chemical composition
of the atmosphere or the timeline of the American Revolution if an acceptable response is "says you?"
... If we lose sight of these distinctions, if we cannot ground our public discourse and our
search for a better world in an agreement that facts matter, we are lost."
(Brian Rosenberg, Macalester Today, Spring, 2017).
Which makes my point. If we can no longer accept demonstrable fact from ideologically driven partisan rhetoric, our great nation and in fact, the human race, is in deep and serious trouble. One thing the Internet has proven is that it will not keep us from sliding down the slippery slope of ignorance and manipulation designed by some to control for their own selfish agendas. So alone as humans, must fight against this powerful onslaught of ignorance and manipulation.
As President George Washington once wrote; "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair." We've got work to do folks! Have a great week!
When pointing out how many inaccuracies have been presented by his staff during press conferences, the President simply says he cannot guarantee accuracy from his staff and hints that perhaps no further press conferences be held. What? Instead of embracing the long standing expectation that the President of the United States ensure what is given to the American public in the form of rationals for actions, the president threatened to cancel future press conferences. (See: www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/05/12/donald-trump-threaten-cancel-press-briefings-comey-firing/101587488/). So much for establishing the sincere effort of our president to ensure honesty and integrity is maintained in the White House! As I have been writing since President Trump's swearing-in, lying to the public will eventually blow up in his face. And it appears, for a majority of Americans, this is actually happening - despite the die-hard support from his supporters (somewhere in the 32-34% of voting Americans). What is truly sad are the ongoing efforts by many leaders in the Republican Party to normalize President Trump's actions as if they are what the voters wanted in electing him. I guess we shall see when the 2018 Mid-Terms Elections roll around to learn how many still support the President and his GOP sycophants.
Along those lines, I ran across an opinion piece addressing the reality some are claiming through the normalization and acceptance of "Alternate Facts" and how those also believe such lies are somehow worthy of discussion and consideration. I found the words from Brian Rosenberg, President of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota accurately convey what I have been thinking all along. Rather than paraphrase President Rosenberg, I think actually citing his article should say "it all." So here goes.
From the Article "The Beauty of Truth."
"...we have entered a dangerous new territory within which even the most basic truths have
become problematic. Did I say what I just said? Is 350 greater than 300?...Is this true? When
the question becomes "it depends" or "that's your opinion" or "I say otherwise and some people
agree with me, we have moved beyond... a world unimagined even in the darkest fever dreams of
George Orwell.
The causes of our crisis are not hard to find. Within the endless, dispirited landscape of the
Internet, one can find not just alternative facts, but alternative universes. Social media make it
possible to surround oneself with noise and insulate oneself from sense. The more extreme
forms of postmodern relativism severely damaged the idea of expertise and called into question
the common sense of the academy.
We have been for some time teetering on the edge of a complete loss of accepted truths and
complete indifference to the sticky inescapable facts. It took only an unprecedented amount of
shamelessness and cynicism, mixed with a dollop of sheer ignorance, to push us over the edge.
...The roots of complex thinking are buried deep in the soil of demonstrable fact: of science,
of history, of mathematics. What is the value of learning the chemical composition
of the atmosphere or the timeline of the American Revolution if an acceptable response is "says you?"
... If we lose sight of these distinctions, if we cannot ground our public discourse and our
search for a better world in an agreement that facts matter, we are lost."
(Brian Rosenberg, Macalester Today, Spring, 2017).
Which makes my point. If we can no longer accept demonstrable fact from ideologically driven partisan rhetoric, our great nation and in fact, the human race, is in deep and serious trouble. One thing the Internet has proven is that it will not keep us from sliding down the slippery slope of ignorance and manipulation designed by some to control for their own selfish agendas. So alone as humans, must fight against this powerful onslaught of ignorance and manipulation.
As President George Washington once wrote; "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair." We've got work to do folks! Have a great week!
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