Voltaire, whose real name was Francois-Marie Arouet was one of the most prolific writers of the 1700s. He used his pen to write plays, poetry, and to express his views on a host of political and social issues, some of which earned him time as a prisoner in France's infamous Bastille. My impression of Voltaire is that, though he was strongly opinionated, he had the intelligence to realize that opinions are preferences...beliefs not usually based on fact. He stated that concept most clearly when he wrote:
"Doubt is an uncomfortable condition, but certainty is a ridiculous one.”
Think about that. Think about that in terms of today's issues in the United States - Afghanistan, immigrants at the border, Biden's present administration, Trump's past administration, Covid masks and vaccinations, Roe vs Wade, racism, the economy, freedom of choice, etc. According to many polls roughly half of us Americans know the truth about these topics. We are absolutely certain of our positions. The truth and certainty that the other 50% of us espouse is false. And nobody knows the truth better than the Democratic far-left...and the Republican far-right. Both are passionately certain that they know the truth and will spin a topic to any extreme to prove it.
I don't know who coined the term RINO - Republican In Name Only, but I suggest that the definition be changed to Reasonable In Name Only. A friend recently wrote to me that the present situation is not just a political war, that it is also a cultural war. I think that there is probably some truth to that viewpoint, but to me it's more than that. It's not difficult to sit back, take a macro view of the present turmoil in this country and see it for what it is...a war on reason. A war to defend one's opinions and beliefs come hell or high water, regardless of whether they can be supported by evidence.
I don't think that it is 100% of us Americans who are actively involved in these wars on politics, culture and reason. I want to believe that there is this vast silent majority who is sitting back, shaking their heads and thinking that we should be so much better than this.
