Looking Beyond Scam-Nut Friends for Facts

 

 

Yet another encouragement regarding fact-checking…

In early October of 1969 I was having a discussion with a friend who insisted that the World Series would run the full seven games. This friend asserted that “it’s all a scam to get as much money out of people as possible”. And so, my friend insisted that “every World Series runs the full seven games”.

   Seriously skeptical of that notion, I referred to my 1969 World Almanac in which I could read previous years results of Series played.

I discovered that while there had in fact been many series that went the full seven, not nearly enough had done so to conclude that it is all “a scam”.

If I had not had my almanac, I would not have been in a credible position to refute my friend with any evidence or confidence.

It is easy for people, talking off the tops of their heads, speaking in a manner which is driven by emotionalism rather than reason, to make a statement that bears no resemblance to reality.

Today I see such behavior on social media.

And so, I offer to people who care about the facts the following links of credible and original sources:

Regarding White House news…

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/

 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/news/

 

Supreme Court Opinions…

 

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/24

 

Congress…

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/active_leg_page.htm

 

https://www.congress.gov/browse

 

Economic information…

 

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

 

Executive orders…

https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders

 

Want to know if the Constitution actually says what people say it says?...

 

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

 

I fully acknowledge that these sources may be cumbersome and take some time to read, but that is the only way for a responsible citizen to know for a fact the actions that were taken, decisions made, and conditions in play.

Otherwise, you’ll just be relying upon your favored news cast, social media, or “1969 World Series scam-nut” friends to tell you what to think.

A Focus on the Twenty-Seven Grievances in the Declaration of Independence

 

Picture from https://allthingsliberty.com/2019/07/the-declaration-of-independence-the-twenty-seven-grievances/

Independence Day, the Fourth of July provides me with an opportunity to, once again, express my sense of patriotism, which is seated on three documents: the Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address.

I wish to take this opportunity to focus more deliberately on the true nature of the reasons for Independence.

I begin with political philosopher John Locke, who lived well before Thomas Jefferson…

From Second Treatise by John Locke published 1689…

“ It is evident that all human beings—as creatures belonging to the same species and rank and born indiscriminately with all the same natural advantages and faculties—are equal amongst themselves.”

What also is evident is that neither Thomas Jefferson, nor the American colonists created this idea.

All the lofty ideas at the fore of the Declaration, of which we are so proud were actually in existence and well-known long before the Declaration was written.

Equality of individuals is not a uniquely American idea.

But where the words of the Declaration get personal, and truly relevant to America are found in the twenty-seven listed grievances. These grievances give us a much more accurate idea of the motivations and reasons for the colonists to separate from England.

It was not so that “We can do things our own way” or exercise “anarchical, indiscriminate license”.

It was to be released from the dangers, indignities, and atrocities which had been perpetrated by a tyrannical King George III.

This section is preceded by the sentence “To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.”

I refer the reader to a good explanation of each of the grievances as presented by the National Park Service at this website:
https://www.nps.gov/fost/blogs/the-declaration-of-independence-what-were-they-thinking.htm

Of interesting note, none of the twenty-seven grievances accuse King George III of interfering with the religious life of the colonists.

Though equality of all individuals is not a uniquely American idea in all of history, all the documents on which my patriotism is seated aspire and commit to that notion.

Let us not stop making it a reality.