Sorry that I kind of left ya hanging yesterday. I ended up reading wikipedia's definitions of truth and fact until my head hurt. And then I played the Sims 2.
Here's the REST....of the story.
John McCain spoke at and held a book signing at the Borders on State and Randolph a few hours ago here in Chicago. He spoke for a decent amount of time about his new book "Character is Destiny" and then held a nice informal Q&A session. Shortly into the Q&A, I raised my hand and stood up. Here's vaguely what my question was:
"I'm a young person involved in politics, a rarity these days. Something that's frustrated me is that I don't know where I can find the truth. Or the facts. I'm not sure that they even exist. People say to have faith in government but I don't think that's right. I don't want to believe. I want to understand. So, where can I find truth?"
Yeah. It's a question that's plagued me since early 2004 as I read every top 10 progressive book: "Liars and the Lying Liars...," "Bushwhacked," and whatever Michael Moore book was out around then. It didn't make me believe one side was lying and the other not, but doubt the existence of truth itself. So yeah.
His response and sorta insult to me after the jump...
I'm not going to attempt to quote him because that would be rude. His response was first to thank me for being involved. (Cool!) Then, he said that he reads the papers on the left wing and right wing, gone online...and then mentioned some policy analysis site that's not the Congressional internet site THOMAS, but something else. And then he reasserted that I should go online and compare and contrast (not in those words).
In "Fog of War," one of Robert McNamara's rules is "Don't answer the question they asked you. Answer the question you wish they asked." I have that in mind with all of this.
A man behind me towards the end of the signing said that he liked my question and we had a brief conversation. As I had the Senator sign my Newsweek (with him on the cover...he signed on his forehead) and book, I asked the question again because advising me to read either side and decide on the truth sounds like a junior high math problem finding the MEAN or MEDIUM of truth. "Well, that's why you're a responsible adult, to make your own decisions." Or something like that.
THAT's the comment I spent a few hours trying to see if it was an insult or not. My dad says no. I'm still not sure.
I added that shouldn't the truth be OBJECTIVE? And I can't remember a conclusive answer. I thanked him and left with my RA who I had invited to come with (she took the picture).
The hours that I wasn't trying to deduct whether he had just insulted me with the "responsible adult" comment (I sensed a bit of sarcasm in his voice, that's why...and I'm a sensitive little daisy), I spent the rest of the night confused out of my mind about "truth." While buying cigarettes, I asked the Walgreen's woman if she thought truth existed in politics and current events. She said no.
There's no such thing as truth. That's got to be it then. My dad says that I'm perfect for a philosophy class right now. Fine. But this, in regards to politics, is very disturbing to me. Think about it. You have each side of the social spectrum citing their facts and proclaiming their "correct" conclusions. Decide which one is right. That's your option. NO ONE will state the truth. You decide it for yourself. Making it an opinion and not the truth.
So. There's no hope for objective logical truth. It's not there. No one presents it. No politician, reporter, academic, or machine with sticky pads.
My brain hurts again.
McCain was good. Answered many questions, had a good sense of humor and his jokes all felt natural. The last question he answered was about the Electoral College and why it should still exist. First because we haven't found a better system. But primarily because one-man one-vote would make it so states like "Montana, Wyoming, and Rhode Island" wouldn't ever see a president in their state. THIS PISSED ME OFF. I made eye contact with him as I schrunched up my face in disagreement. THOSE STATES DON'T SEE PRESIDENTS DURING ELECTION TIMES EVEN NOW!!! It's all about battleground states! Bush hasn't been to Montana (I don't think...or if he did it was brief) and then Wyoming gets SOME attention because Cheney's from there! And NONE of those visits have been during election times. We got NO commercials and there was NO attention from the DNC.
If you're going to give "evidence" as to why you are right, it should be correct! But correct is kind of the same as true or truth. So it probably doesn't exist either.
Err. Brain. Dividing. In. Head.
And yeah, WILD planes started breaking out of their cages last night around 7 at Midway. The snow last afternoon-evening was massive. I couldn't see the buildings 100-200 ft. across the block. The local stations all covered it until their 8 o'clock programming came on. Had to get "The Apprentice" and "CSI" on the air, for CHRIST's SAKE!
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