I've been a very lazy blogger lately. I decided to cut back to just ONE 'Battle Of The Bands' contest per month in order to devote MORE time to my other two blogs, and instead it seems I've simply cut back on all of 'em. I don't understand it myself.
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However, below is a copy of two comments I recently left on Arlee Bird's 'Tossing It Out' blog which I thought might actually make for a semi-decent blog bit in their own right. They also serve pretty well as a segue into my next (A-List, E-Ticket) blog bit hopefully coming soon here to 'F-FFF'.
The following is my edited and extended answer to a question about writing and my reply to Arlee Bird's own multi-layered response to the question. It was Arlee Bird who introduced the topics of "divisiveness" and "extreme sensitivity to differing opinions":
>>... "What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?"
Well, that's easy enough. I learned how to write better. I convey my ideas better. I punctuate better. That's about it. Beyond that, what I have learned is due not to writing but to reading (and just living life).
What annoys the living daylights out of me, when it comes to the ultra-important subjects of politics and religion (and let's face it, they are the two most important topics there are, and in many respects are actually intertwined), most people today don't seem to recognize the difference between an opinion and a fact.
People seem to think that all differences are differences of opinion, not realizing that many differences of opinion are actually based on the fact that some people simply do not KNOW the facts.
For examples: I hold opinions on music. I dislike most Prog-Rock, Punk Rock, and Rap. These opinions are based on facts about those types of music, but my opinions are still subjective and I can understand why some folks would disagree with my opinions on those types of music.
To clarify, in the instance of Prog-Rock, there are certain facts about Prog-Rock which lead me to dislike it. However, I fully understand how THOSE VERY SAME FACTS ABOUT PROG-ROCK might lead someone else to actually embrace it.
So, in other words, sometimes opinions are based on facts. But other times, facts SHOULD lead to similar conclusions. It all depends upon the subject matter -- whether it is something that can be considered subjective (e.g., taste in music) or objective (e.g., the results of foreign or domestic policy, etc.)
Not everything is just "someone's opinion". There are OBJECTIVE FACTS.
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Let's consider Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah, that He was crucified and Resurrected. I believe The Holy Bible was Divinely inspired. These beliefs are based on indisputable FACTS. But then some "atheist" will come along and say this is just my opinion and his belief in Evolution (for example) is just as valid. WRONG!!! In an extensive debate with me, based solely on known facts, I would crush the evolutionist. It would be no contest. And yet he will go on his merry way "feeling" that his chosen view is as valid as mine.
Some people strongly believe that the 1927 Yankees were the best baseball team in history. They hold this belief based on facts such as the Yankees won 110 games during the season and lost only 44; they swept their opponent in the World Series; and the team included 7 future Hall of Famers including 2 pitchers as well as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Those are facts.
However, there are other variables (or "alternative facts") to be considered: The 1927 players did not have the advanced knowledge and technology in training and health maintenance that players have today. They did not have to hit in the modern era of Relief Pitching Specialists (e.g., they weren't facing a fresh arm throwing 98-100 miles per hour in the 8th and 9th innings, etc.) Some of today's most challenging pitches to hit in professional baseball had not yet been developed in 1927.
Were the '27 Yankees the greatest team in Major League Baseball history? It depends upon how much significance or weight you attach to the available known facts.
Is Communism the most deadly political ideology in mankind's history? Yes. The fact is that Communism / Communists are responsible for approximately 100 million deaths -- whether by deliberate murder, starvation, or imprisonment in slave labor camps. There are no other facts that supersede or mitigate that one. That is an OBJECTIVE FACT, unlike the SUBJECTIVE OPINION (based on facts) that the 1927 Yankees were the best team in MLB history.
The problem is that too many people from all walks of life (both the Liberals and Conservatives; both the Secular and the Religious) hold dogmatically to opinions that they have formed. Sometimes those opinions are based on falsehoods, half-truths, lack of information, or simply how the person "feels" that the world should be. Too many people refuse to reevaluate the positions they formed earlier in the light of new information. It's as if once they have made their determination on something -- especially politics and religion -- nothing will shake that opinion, let alone change it.
Why? Well, one reason is because to change a long-held opinion, one is essentially admitting to having been initially wrong. Nobody likes to find they've been wrong, particularly after they've bickered with opponents for years. Therefore, a lot of people simply REFUSE to even examine evidence they come across which may legitimately challenge their cherished beliefs. (Or as I recently wrote: "You can lead a liberal to info but you can't make him think.")
One thing I can honestly say for myself is that in my quest for Truth regarding Spiritual matters, more than once I have had to admit that I'd been misled, or that I had gotten it wrong, and I had to go back to the drawing board again... and again. But I've been willing to confess and do this because one of my personal maxims in life is:
"I would rather KNOW an unpleasant Truth
than BELIEVE a pleasant Lie."
Based on history and objective facts, I will argue that the Free Enterprise system is, overall, the best for the most number of people. The communist / socialist will dispute that, based on his "feelings".
That crap annoys me no end!
As the truly brilliant ADRIAN ROGERS once said:
"EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO HIS OWN OPINION,
BUT NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO BE WRONG
ABOUT THE FACTS."
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Consider this post just a warm-up for my next major blog bit here at 'F-FFF'.
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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You are spot-on about this.
ReplyDeleteAlmost NOBODY seems to understand the difference between opinion and fact. My opinion is that these people are idiots. The FACT is that there is almost nothing can be done about it.
The public school system, through decades of blurring the lines, presenting false history, and destroying the ability of people to reason has led us to our current sorry state.
I will say that "those at the top" DO know the difference between facts and opinion but they deliberately continue to use their morons, er, minions to reach their goals.
For example, here in Seattle, it is a FACT is that the city council members are just plain communists. The Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing "fellow-traveler" public elects these people based on their lies. This council just voted to enact a CITY income tax on the rich. It is a GROSS income tax, meaning that if a person brings in $250k or more of ANY sort of income - forget any deductions - they pay a 2.25% income tax to the CITY. This would, of course go towards helping the homeless (a huge problem in this city that welcomes them), and towards funding public transportation systems that are not used much - not nearly enough to justify the spending.
This tax was enacted despite the fact that the state constitution PROHIBITS an income tax. (This drives them nuts. All these libs shoulda read the thing before moving here and f-ing things up, because - without that in there to protect the rest of us - Washington would easily be at the top of crappy states... eclipsing even CA and IL as liberal financial disasters.)
So, all the lowly “party-members” are excited - with their signs painted with slogans about soaking the rich that don’t pay their “fair-share” and they think this will actually happen.
The FACT is that the law is unconstitutional and WILL be struck down, as numerous attempts have in the past.
However, the commie council members are actually URGING the people to “pack the court room” and make their presence known when it does to court. I’ve said it before to you: it is like the French Revolution and the Jacobins. If they don’t tell us what we want to hear, off with their heads. If they scream loud enough, they figure to get their way and MAKE fact finally fit their fiction/opinion.
It will not end well for anyone.
SIXGUN J. McITCHYFINGER ~
ReplyDeleteYou have certainly compensated for your recent Comment Section absence with a comment of monumental, A-List & E-Ticket proportions and educated insight.
Where to begin? You covered so many angles and equally spot-on!
My next major blog bit here will further delve into the "Communist Connection". But, indeed, as has been thoroughly documented in many places, most unions and government agencies -- including those who direct public education, police departments, entertainment fields including magazine and book publishing -- are honeycombed and riddled with real communists.
It's true, as you said, that "those at the top" DO know the difference between facts and opinions. It's also true that those at the VERY top are themselves NOT communists, despite the fact that at every turn since well before the McCarthy Years, they have been promoting Communism and communists via their "useful idiots". I will touch on WHY they promote Communism when they themselves are not true believers in that satanic ideology in that next big blog bit.
One thing I love about the Internet (thank you, Al Gore!) is that we can all keep up almost instantly with news across the country and around the world. For example, I was aware of this new B.S. income tax they are trying to impose in Seattle due to the many websites I routinely read, such as this one:
https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2017/07/12/seattle-approves-income-tax-on-wealthy-mayor-cites-trump-agenda/
It was through that same site that I also learned Seattle is about "to open a new homeless shelter where drugs and alcohol are allowed":
https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2017/07/11/seattle-to-open-a-new-homeless-shelter-where-drugs-and-alcohol-are-allowed/
Gee, that's a good idea, huh? Let's help the homeless... remain homeless by enabling them to retain their dependence on the things that created and/or contributed to their homeless condition.
Of course, this all sounds insane, but it actually makes perfect sense to those of us who understand Communism and its methods. Ain't nuttin' crazy about this idea. It's totally logical... IF Communism is your unstated goal!
Hokey-Smoke! The way things are heading, one could almost get the idea that the Biblical Apocalypse will soon be upon us and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as early as [Link:) 2029. Wink!-Wink! Nudge!-Nudge!
~ D-FensDogG
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