Some Uncomfortable Truths

Well, take it from me.

People can really suck.

If you are looking to prove that, it’s fairly easy.

It’s just about as easy to prove that they don’t.

But this post is not about the latter. It’s about the former, because this ain’t no pie-in-the-sky utopian blog, it’s a rant haven where the ills of society are regularly pointed out to the tone-deaf idiots who don’t read this blog anyway, but should.

That said.

People really can suck.

I was over reading Squato Rant’s post today about how Tennessee continues to screw over poor people,  because they can. And it pointed out a very serious truth to me. People continue to believe what they want because it serves some purpose–mainly their moral worldview. Now their moral worldview may be world’s away from mine, and thus, from my perspective damned offensive, but they actually (hate to admit this but it’s very true) believe it just every bit as sincerely as I do mine. The fact that to do so is jackassery in the extreme is also part of my worldview.

But I have to admit that they are sincere.

You see we not only search for that which supports our being right in the world, we also vary the amount of proof required accordingly. According to Professor Haidt, it’s called, can/must thinking.

See, when we want to believe something, we look for any evidence that says we can. It doesn’t matter if most of the evidence says we can’t, as long as some speck of evidence says it’s “rational”. So you want to believe in creationism? Sure. While the vast array of evidence suggests that the earth, the universe and all it contains,  was not created in six days, there is that pesky bible, if believed literally, which says it was. And if there is one shred of question about ANY tiny aspect of evolutionary theory (and there always will be), then I’m “allowed” to believe in creationism, no matter how utterly crazy that is. I can believe in it.

But conversely, when you don’t want to believe something, you look for any shred of evidence that suggests that you are not required to believe in it–must I? No, it might be incredibly prudent in order to not look like the wrong end of an elephant, but if you are willing to do that, by all means, there is that little hole in the evidence over there. Go stand by it and proclaim that evolution isn’t true because they haven’t solved this mystery of how life originated from inert matter.

So that’s where we find ourselves, each clinging to all sorts of things we want to, while denying all sorts of other things we don’t want to believe are true.

The fact is, the truth is what it is no matter what.

Now there is some answer here. We gotta assume that most people are interested enough in reality to mostly cling to stuff that is actually true, and mostly discard that which is not. We gotta assume that most people are psychologically sane in other words. And since we have cars, computers, skyscrapers (do they still use that term?), and electric can openers, we can pretty much assume that that assumption is correct.

So here is just a list of stuff that ain’t true no matter how many times you say it. Just in case you are confused.

1. People who have a lot of money are not “job creators”. They are experts in making money. They try to make as much as they can, and that means selling whatever they sell for the most money, and at the cheapest cost to themselves. Cheapest cost, includes labor. Nobody hires one more person that they think they can get away with and still make the highest profit. (Proviso: there are some rich folks who aren’t in it for the money, and actually believe in everyone making a fair wage. These are called exceptions to the rule).
2. Climate change is real. No matter how much you wish it weren’t and no matter how much you don’t want to pay for it, it’s still real. I just read that Senator Inhofe from the great? state of Oklahoma, used to believe in climate change. That was before he found out how much it would cost to repair the damage. Well he decided to look for “evidence” to the contrary, and shockingly, he found it. Truth is sorta not interested in costs Senator.
3. America was not designed to be a “Christian” nation. It was created by men who were more deist than anything. Moreover they were men of the Enlightenment–the idea that reason was supplanting religious explanation for physical phenomenon. The came from theocratic countries and wanted no part of that sort of government–hence the 1st Amendment and its proscription against government intruding on religious freedom. Even St. Paul recognized that God was known through creation by the use of mind: “since God has made it plain to them: ever since the creation of the world, the invisible existence of God and his everlasting power have been clearly seen by the mind’s understanding of created things.” (Rom. 1: 19-20) See, it’s not a trick, we can trust our minds and our senses.
4. The North won the civil war. Get over it. Same with Obama.
5. Women will still have abortions as a last resort no matter what you legislate Republicans. You can force them to go to back-alley charlatans or you can get out of the way so they can obtain them safely. They always have gotten them throughout history. That’s the truth.
6. The world is increasingly NOT-white. Deal with that. Or at least get over it. It’s true, and it’s going to remain true. It is also true of this country which will be more non-white than white shortly. Trust me, I live in New Mexico. I live in a city where the population of Latino people is larger than that of the white population. I can’t imagine why anyone would care. And you get to learn a whole new cuisine and culture. What is bad about that?
7. In any universe known or unknown, the truth is that Louis Gohmert (not giving people food stamps to buy King crab legs!), Steve King, Michele Bachmann, Ted Cruz, Rick Perry, James Inhofe, and a whole list as long as my arm x 20, are still going to be insufferably stupid, evil, and owned by big business interests. They represent loons. Is that a good use of your tax money.

That’s just a few. No doubt you have others.