Monday, January 30, 2012

What Is Truth? Come On, Don't Be Coy...You Know

There are two types of people in the world:

Those who believe there are two types of people in the world, and those who don't.

And by accepting this, we are sucked into a paradox ~ can you be an adherent of the second type, while at the same time not being an inadvertent member of the first? Does your belief in the idea of there being many more than just two types of people in the world automatically change if  presented in this particular dictum?

No, of course it doesn't.

There are Four Types of Truths, and your belief in this instance is considered part of the lower tier Truth ~ Personal Truth. Personal Truth is a conclusion obtained though your individual learning, experiences and perspective. "The Chicago Cubs are the best baseball team in the world!"

Moving upward on the ladder, the next two levels are Social Truth and Human Truth, which reflect what are considered as true to specific groups, and species, respectively. While neither of these are yet Absolute Truths, you can see there must be a much larger consensus than just your own personal belief for any Truth to be accepted in either category.

Then, sitting atop all of those, up on the highest step, you have the ultimate. The king. The undisputed. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present, Universal Truth! (applause, applause)

Universal Truth is what anyone with a functioning brain knows to be correct, because it can be proven to be so. Universal Truth wins every argument, so don't even try. Really. You're just going to embarrass yourself.

Universal Truth can solve any advanced math problem. Go on. I dare you.

Universal Truth also has access to every YouTube clip ever uploaded, so insisting you never called Grandma a pain in the ass at the Christmas party of 2007 is a losing proposition, because the footage exists on Universal Truth's iPhone.

To say that Personal Truths are trumped by Universal Truths is an understatement.

Personal Truth:  "The Chicago Cubs are the best baseball team in the world!"
Universal Truth: "Wanna see their record for the last hundred years?"

The only case where Personal Truth, and it's two other cousin Truths, are not destroyed by Universal Truth is in the matter of taste. By adding a personalization to your belief, you shield yourself from harm.

"I believe the Chicago Cubs are the best team in the world!"

And why is this so? Simple. Because personal belief is not fact! You can believe they are the best, but if you try to substantiate it, you will be beaten down hard by concrete facts. Similarly, you cannot say, "The capital of Florida is DisneyLand." That is not even a belief, and points will be taken away from you.

That seems logical, right? Unfortunately, that's not where we are as a country nowadays. Over the past few years, Personal Truth has somehow magically, and incomprehensibly, surmounted Universal Truth. People, (politicians, mainly), can say anything they want, regardless of the facts, and an ever-growing segment of the population believes them.

Politician: "The economy is getting worse."
Universal Truth: "Here are some charts, graphs, and calculations that prove it's getting better!"
People: "Eh. We believe that first guy. He looks like me, and we share some of the same opinions on
social issues."

The economy. National debt. Equality. Civil rights. The right to choose. Torture. Who caused what to happen, and who didn't. A person's birth certificate, for chrissakes! These are all examples of issues with verifiable facts. Facts that are conveniently ignored for the sake of personal gain.

Large numbers of people abandoning the Truth in favor of Taste is an invitation to disaster. It's said that the taste of anti-freeze is quite pleasant, but the truth is, it will kill you if you drink it.

It's admirable, and entirely expected, for individuals to have a personal sense of taste. There's nothing wrong about that. But don't allow your personal tastes to obscure the Universal Truths that are out there. You don't have to like them, but you must accept them. And once you accept them, you can fight them honestly. That is the only way we can advance as a society.

To act in any other way is disingenuous. And an outright lie.

That's the truth.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Enthusiasm vs. Motivation, With The Winner Taking on Daily Reality

If you're wondering why the title is so long, it's because I'm overcompensating.

I started this blog on Friday, with the intention of writing something new everyday. Yet, it's five days later, and these words that are now being slapped into this post are the first I've written since.

That's depressing. Usually, my initial enthusiasm propels me a little further than the first damn day. It's like taking out a full page ad on New Year's Day, boldly proclaiming all of your resolutions, only to say, "Fuck it!" the next day, and continuing to do that thing in the park that you just swore you'd never do again.

I know it's somewhat hackneyed, but I do have an excuse. Actually, I have several excuses. I'll lay them all out, and let you decide. Feel free to pick one ~ or, mix and match! Perhaps you'll see a connection with a couple and arrive at an understanding.

My excuses for not writing sooner, arranged chronologically:

* I burned the roof of my mouth on pizza that wasn't even good, (and no, I didn't just steal that line from Julia Nunes. That's really what happened.) A large section of skin peeled off, and it hurts like hell.
* I woke up feeling very sick the next day. Cold, flu, 96 hour plague ~ whatever, it was nasty.
* Whenever I tried thinking of something to write, it went nowhere fast.
* There were two playoff games on Sunday.
* Monday I had to drive over 350 miles in the rain up to San Jose.
* As I was getting ready the next day to drive that 350-plus miles back home, I realized I hadn't brought a change of underwear.

So, maybe the last one isn't a valid excuse. By itself, dirty underwear isn't enough to keep you from writing. At least it shouldn't be.

Okay, now I'm beginning to think of ways how it could keep you from writing. And I really wish the thoughts would vanish from my head, because they're kinda disturbing.

Erase. Erase. Erase. Think pleasant thoughts. Erase the frightening.

That's better.

Quite often, the best laid plans of Day One can be thwarted by the realities of Day Two. But that doesn't mean that Day Three, or in my case, Day Five, should leave you drifting aimlessly. As Nietzsche said, "Shit happens. Shit always happens. That's life. Get over it and on with it." My aim is to write something new everyday, but reality may interfere and cause a slight delay. Oh well. Reality's been playing games with me for as long as I've known it, so that's really not all that surprising. So, I'm going to keep making plans. That's all.

And for the record, my mouth is still sore today, but I am in possession of clean underwear.

See? Reality isn't always so dismal. It might sting for a while, and possibly have a slight odor that only you can detect, but give it a day or two, and it will all work out.

Friday, January 20, 2012

So, You Created A Blog. How Original. Now What?

Good question. Luckily, I have an answer. But I suppose that's what's expected when you pose a question to yourself, otherwise, what's the point of asking?

"What about rhetorical questions?" you ask.

True, people do ask themselves rhetorical questions, but even in those cases, an answer in some form or another is expected.

"Can't you do anything right?" you might ask yourself.

"Why yes, I can!" you proudly reply back to yourself.

"Prove it," you demand.

"Fine," you say. "I will. I can ask a rhetorical question to myself, and provide an answer! There! I proved it!"

"Touche," you respond. "You had me worried."

"Not as worried as the rest of our family seems to be right now," you laugh. "Take a look at them. For some reason, they're staring at us with the weirdest looks on their faces!"

"Don't worry about them," you reassure yourself. "They're a little nuts. Let's sing a song. Something bouncy, with a good two-part harmony!" *

You obviously see where I'm going with this, (and when I say you, I mean you the reader, not you the imaginary version of myself that I speak to when no one else wants to talk to me. Just felt that needed to be clarified.) This is all heading toward the expected answer to the question posed above:

So, You Created A Blog. How Original. Now What?

I plan to write things on it.

Good things, hopefully, but that part is really up to you. If you like it, you'll come back. If you don't, well, I wish you'd still come back. The last thing you read and hated could have been only an anomaly. Everybody has a bad day. Geez, give me a break, will 'ya?

Some of you (the reader ~ I don't really have to go through this every time, do I?), may already follow me on Facebook and think, "Why should I follow the blog, too?" Again, another good question, and thank you so much for asking. I was hoping someone would get around to this. In addition to saying hi to friends and family, my Facebook page is dedicated more to news gathering, and making smartass comments about newsmakers.  The blog is intended to be more about my extended musings. Yes, I have extended musings. And they need an outlet. I know this because after ten or fifteen minutes of talking to people in person, they invariably tell me, "Please! Find an outlet for your extended musings!"

I have. And this is it.

I hope you like it. If so, tell your friends, and check back often. I hope to have something new added every day.



* Based on a true story. Or so I've been told.