Many years ago Rush Limbaugh was asked by a caller what he could do to help his family arrive at their own political decisions. I am paraphrasing his response here from memory.
His simple answer was, “Be that person.”
By that response he meant many things and yet he meant one thing. He essentially meant be that person friends and family come to to understand the complexities of life’s problems often firmly interwoven into todays political landscape.
Easier said than done, and there is no shortage of people willing to give an opinion. Confidence is easily confused with competence.
Education is at the core of arriving at a competent decision. With artificial Intelligence and the Internet, sorting out the truth from fiction is not easy, especially with the spin and nuance of news reporting these days.
History is one of the greatest teacher of all. When history is accurately recorded and not revised, it is a means to observe the results of different decisions under different situations and circumstances. Be careful what you believe to be accurate history.
Politicians are renowned for revising history whether that be in their words, deeds or results of their leadership. It is important to reflect and educate yourself on America’s history from before founding to now.
Logic is also a lost art. I chuckle whenever I hear a politician campaign on offering FREE anything. Logically, nothing is free without the labor or resources of someone else being expended without them being compensated. The only reason there are so many FREE programs from the government is because the government withholds a significant part of your paycheck, then taxes you when you buy anything with already taxed dollars.
Using these two components it is possible to work through to a reasonable conclusion with a high probability of accuracy. Not 100% of the time! But well above average.
To “Be that person,” you must have been right more than wrong in the past. That comes from selective reading, observing results, and remembering them. Selective reading (and listening) involves people proven to be truthful and logical and right a high percentage in the past. This may be folks you know, writers you respect, or political pundits you trust.
Let me pause here to say I am sick of conspiracy theories. Take a film and break it down frame by frame and almost any conspiracy can be theorized. I also don’t get the “Flat Earthers,” the “Moon Landing was fake” and “The Big Bang” theory of creation. For all the people involved to construct such fakes, someone would have spoken out. Yet logic explains a larger involvement in JFK, RFK and MLK’s assassinations due to the changes these men advocated and who stood to gain or lose.
“Be that person” requires a firm foundation and respectable reputation. According to Google, the word “fool” occurs 360 times in the Bible compared to the word “wise” at 247 times. For fun, that means the word fool is used 59% of both words and I believe it may under-represent the number in the world.
So to “Be that person,” be a student of history and what is happening now. Be selective in your sources. Know history to aware of what has taken place from different decisions in the past. Know what is happening in the now to see what decisions are being made and watch their results unfold. To “Be that person,” study. Do your homework to understand the workings of the world, the results of different government structures, the causes of wars.
Apply logic to decision making. Does it make sense? Has it been tried in the past? If so, did it work or not? Is it logical for any segment of society to get something for free?
To believe some of the bull butter being spread in today’s world is a level of gullibility bordering on insanity. I will refrain from listing them here to focus on the decision making process. Wise decisions or positions are not centered in ignorance. Educate yourself.
My pronouns are he/him.
