Opus 2023-208: Election 2024: Gas!

It is time for us to put on our campaign filters.

Filter what we hear.  Most speeches will be bombastic verbosity.  They don’t mean a whole lot.  Extreme statements will be made.  Get a salt shaker because there are a lot of grains you are going to need to take.

Filter what we say.  This is advice mainly to those doing the speaking.  It might be a good idea to have your mother proof-read your speech to see if it meets the sniff test.  Of course if your mother is a never-Trumper that won’t do any good.  Find someone who is easily offended and have them review what you are going to say.  Use the time to build a vision instead of tearing down the opposition.  Think ahead a bit because you may need those people to support or defend you at some future time.

Filter what you read.  How do I get this across?  The media lies.  The government lies.  Scientists lie.  Even conservative sites, who should know better, lie.  We call it exaggeration or click bait but that is because we feel a need to defend our allies.  The basic fact is, they lie.   I have jokingly commented that if someone tells me at noon that the sun is up, I will go outside and check for myself.  Yes, it is that bad.  It reminds me of basic training when they forced us to walk through a room filled with tear gas.  When we smelled it we were supposed to yell, “Gas!”  We were then to put on our gas mask and try to breathe normally.  It took awhile but could be done.

Can we find our way through the labyrinth of lies?  To some degree.  Start with a foundation of truth.  For me that is the basic principles of the Bible.  Everything must mesh with that truth.  Then I look at the click bait and automatically rule out anything making claims that are scintillating.  I will then do some reading.  Over time we find people that seem to be more reliable than others.  I think of Dr. Malone on the covid brainwashing.  As a general rule he seems to be sharing truth.  I listen to people like that more than the CDC or, now days, the Salvation Army.  

Over time I think you can get a feel for what is true and what is not.  Does that tell us what is going to happen next?  No, simply no.  It simply helps us to make wise and moral decisions.  So, is murder wrong?  Yes.  Simple.  Is vigilante justice wrong?  Not so simple but still a question we may need to answer soon.

For the next year and a half keep in mind that campaigns are not a proclamation of truth.  What a candidate says on the hot seat is not like Moses coming down from Mount Sinai.  Wait it out.  Listen for the principles behind the proclamations.  Remember how each person has performed in the past and get ready to vote.

Gas!

homo unius libri