Questioning Who/What to Believe

There can be no doubt that the president of the USA is a bit of a fool. That is to say - he is not very bright - I am not even sure if he can read above a primary grade level. He is self-centred, egotistical and has probably been a bully all of his life. To suggest that he has a one track mind is to suggest that he is capable of thinking at all. How do I know all of this? Everything that I read and all of my friends say that it is so. If perchance I come across an article or a program on television that suggest that the president is not an idiot, I only pay attention long enough to make sure that item is not intended to be funny or satirical. People who try to rationalize, explain or defend his actions irritate me.

I wonder if that is how the supporters of Trump feel when they see news items or editorials that criticize their president. Is their commitment - perhaps even dedication to the president and his agenda so firmly entrenched into their daily lives because they only read things that they agree with; only talk to people who think the same way as they do? Which of course does not make them right - but it does not automatically make me right either.

The above thoughts flittered through my mind as I was reading about the allegations against the prime minister of how he or his office may have tried to interfere in an investigation - or rather how the charges would be dealt with. I found the news items irritating and not particularly useful. I am tired of columnists and political pundits going on and on about something that has not been proven or confirmed by anyone in a position to know what happened. The Globe and Mail have not released their sources - so no one knows who said what to whom, or if in fact anything was said at all. We also do not know why this individual released the information to the Globe and Mail.

I realized that I was not just irritated because of the one-sided feeding frenzy that was generated by the Opposition parties and the press. If I disliked or deeply disagreed with the politics or tone of the present prime minister - I might quite enjoy the potential political bloodbath. I find the whole thing pointless and annoying because, while I have never voted Liberal in my 40+ years of voting, I like the youthfulness and public attitude of the present government and find it slightly more palatable than any of the other parties. In other words, I am irritated because someone who, at the very least, I do not dislike is being "picked on".

It was disturbing to realize that in spite of my frequent suggestions that we would all be better off if people would learn to think critically, I am as guilty as the next person of only listening to the news sources that say what I want them to say; who attack those who I have decided deserve to be attacked. It may be that the middle road, that roadway that at least contains some of the truths from either end of the continuum is getting harder and harder to find as the pathways of our lives get clogged up by the detritus of previous debates. But surely we have to start trying.

Perhaps the first step would be to accept that there are multitude points of view - some which might be opposite of mine and which - whether I like it or not - might be right.