A quote sparks some thoughts...

From Penn Gillette, in Reason -

"I get that feeling that maybe I endorse some stuff that doesn’t make sense, and I’d like someone to beat me up about that a little more. I have a certain kind of peacenik default in all my interactions. If you ask me, “Should we have been in World War II?,” I instantly say no. World War I, certainly no. Vietnam, certainly no. Iraq, no. I really seem to think that the answer to everything is peace, and I’m not sure I can support that. I have this weird kind of feeling that if I knew enough, maybe peace isn’t always the answer."

I like the way this guy thinks. Really - people who can comfortably acknowledge they may not have all the answers rock my world. I have a way I want the world to be, a set of principles I believe in, but I like to think I don't foist it upon those who disagree with me. There should be discussion and debate of the issues. We should be more respectful of those who think differently than we do. And by that, I don't just mean speaking politely with them, I mean really listening to what they have to say and considering that there might be more than one way to think, that those we follow in the media don't always have the answer to every issue just because we share an ideological label with them.

Thinking for yourself and being able to come to terms with the realization that you are not always right, it's surprisingly rare. The truth is, I suspect our leaders don't necessarily subscribe to a single ideology with fixed black and white answers to the issues we face. They just appear to, because that's how they sell themselves as leaders. They know they are wrong, or at least not completely right. But they make a choice, for whatever motivates them and they sell it like it's Gospel.

I wish more people understood this, accepted it and could face that this means they have a responsibility to think for themselves and search for their own facts. We are all busy people, living our little lives and I get that. I don't always take the time to seek out the complete truth on things. I should, but who has that kinda time?

There are certain polarized media folks who are fond of saying we are manipulated by the media, the very industry of which they are a part, meanwhile they are hoping we won't notice they are just as much a part of that manipulating force. Just because they will point fingers at the "other side" doesn't mean they aren't just as much a part of the entire operation.

I could go on here for hours maybe, but hopefully I made my point somewhere along the way, which was to say --Penn Gillette makes my panties wet. :)