Confessions

Don’t tell but I have a confession to make. I’m well aware that my opinions may be wrong! My first editorials, opinion pieces, were written some 25 years ago for the Los Angeles Times, and I’ve written over 500 just for the Cascade Courier. I’m sure some folks think I’m completely goofy on a regular basis but, I assure you, I never intentionally write anything I don’t consider true.

The thing is, truth is somewhat flexible. Some truths hold up under scientific scrutiny. They are subjected to objective testing, usually over and over, and always come up with the same answer so we can feel sure they are Truth with a capital “T”.

Then there are the truths imparted to us by genetic predisposition combined with culture. For example, some folks hold deep religious beliefs, some folks don’t. Some people don’t believe anything unless they’ve personally tested a proposition and found it to be accurate.

Some folks believe whatever their favorite television program tells them or whatever their favored politicians tell them this week. I’m always amazed that some folks faithfully remain committed to particular points of view even though the purveyors of those positions regularly switch from one side to the other. There are well known politicians who easily win elections whose opinions on any given subject resemble a weather vane that spins with prevailing opinion. One well known Senator, not from Montana, has, I think, held every possible opinion on every side of every question of consequence for at least 40 years. Integrity is hardly his strong suit.

Regardless of our beliefs, it is my opinion, that some personal attributes increase integrity and make us more likely to come up with truth.

Intellectual humility is critical. Socrates, as reported by Plato, said, “I know that I know nothing” and “For I was conscious that I knew practically nothing.”

It is my assumption that every sentient creature on Earth knows somethings I do not know. I have been appropriately corrected by a developmentally challenged individual.

No matter how long we might study the subject we’ll never know what reality is truly like for animals. We know that trees communicate with one another and insects clearly do. We know, for all our intellect, practically nothing.

Once we accept the simple fact that we can’t possibly know every answer to every question there’s another requirement needed in our quest for truth. Unfortunately, in order to discover truth, we have to actually do some work. No matter what we’re considering, doing some research is critical. Regardless of how much we like someone, we start with the assumption that they’re human too and imperfect. It may come as a shock to some folks but being a good actor or being very wealthy absolutely does not impart wisdom to what they say. Teachers, preachers, and even newspaper opinion writers, might earn respect for what they know but can be mistaken.

The very best teachers, teach us not what to think but how to think.