Its a Fact

Our society has put more emphasis on the insurance behind saying something is a fact. This is something that many people find comforting. When someone claims a statement to be a fact there is more acceptance of that statement. They almost equate facts with Truths. This is not very stable when what we believe is a fact today may not be a fact tomorrow. How than can you prove the validity of a statement?


If you can't rely on facts to make a statement true (this is truth with a lower case t) or false, then you must rely on your intuition. Your own thoughts or feelings towards something must serve as the validity for whatever that something may be. This gets messy, because every individual human on this planet has a different interpretation of things. They may have some common ground, but different backgrounds and experiences lead to different personal points of view. This can make things difficult when you are dealing with things like international relations. Countries have different cultures that sway the way they think and act. This can go deeper into the way languages play a different role for different words as well. When you don't have that social norm as a common ground to interact upon, then you can end up fighting affecting the lives of millions. The facts that get lost in translation have an effect on people around the world. Can a fact remain solid if it is passed through multiple languages? This is dependant on the languages and how much trust is instilled in the translator.


This is why we need facts. People need facts so they can feel secure about what the other person means. Facts, whether proven or theoretical, can provide the common ground for interpersonal relations. Once you have this common ground, things become clearer than they were before when interpretation was the only reasoning available. It is true that facts have changed over the course of history. Facts are looked at more and more closely in recent years as well. People are skeptical of what they hear. This is most likely a result of the amendments of information that has forever been seen as true. This change over time is not a bad thing though. It is assuring that what we view as a fact is being challenged continuously. This constant challenge results in a better understanding of things in the world around us.


This should not discount the power of intuition. Although I do believe in sound evidence, I know that there are times when a "gut feeling" can be stronger than the logical answer. Some of these gut feelings may have a logical basis that determines the reaction of an individual. These hunches are not often acted upon as quickly as the logical approach would be, but they are nevertheless there. This does not mean that someone’s initial feeling on something is right or that it will pay out in the end, but at times you just know that what you feel you should do is the best option. There are always choices to decide what is best at the time; logic or intuition. Suppose a building is on fire and there is a possibility that there are still people in the building. A fireman may look at the situation logically. He has training that alters the way he sees the situation. It is a very calculated event to someone that has gone through the same crisis before. There are steps that the fireman would take that are different than what the actions of a normal person would be. A normal person may not choose to do anything at all. This is definitely based off a logical thought that most likely they will be powerless to help even if they tried. There is also the concept of self-preservation that is very logical. But this doesn't account for the good citizen that runs in despite the odds. This is when intuition beats logical thought processes. Acting on your intuition is a risk, but the result may be positive.

Completely belief and faith in facts is probably a bad decision. With the constant change in the way society views things there is no room to fully trust the statements of the masses. But to reject every statement that is portrayed as a fact would be a waste of time in the end. Skepticism to a point is a understandable and even beneficial, but there is a line that can be crossed that makes disbelief counter productive. Conspiracy theories can only go so far until they are proven one way or another.

Kyoto

America has been seen a, if not the only, leader of the world for a long time now. We have set the standards for many changes in the world. We have directed the treaties that have had an impact on the globalization of earth. Most notably are the UN and NATO. Why then, should we be lagging behind in the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG)? There are many ways to look at the reasons of not ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. Whether or not President elect Barrack Obama should set this treaty towards ratification is something that many people are debating. This is ultimately not up to him though, it is up to the bipartisan Senate. The motives behind Democrats and Republicans will be different, but hopefully it will come down to what is best not what special interests desire.



George Washington delivered one of the only fairwell addresses that we care about. He said that America should stand clear of permanent foriegn alliances. A global treaty that could possibly cause negative effects for the American economy is one of these undesirable alliances. This is, however, in direct opposition to the United Nations which America basicly created. We have already entered in permanent alliances that we believed would benefit us along with the world.



America has always prided itself on the fact that we are the inovators of the world. We have an image that we are supposed to be the protectors of the less fortunate. This is the main reason that so many people believe we should be in Darfur. Genocide in one country is seen as an immediate problem that should have the attention of America. Global warming is one of these immediate issues as well. The economy may lag behind for a time but in the long run, there will be greater benefits. Signing the Kyoto Protocol doesn't have to be the way that America steps up and leads the country in acting against global warming but there is definitely a global need for action. The newly elected president should find a program that he believes will put America on top when it comes to preventing the rise of GHG. He should look past partisan politics and do what the world really needs. If that need is a global treaty to better the earth so be it.