In response to some, most famously Donald Trump, questioning whether or not he was born in this country, President Obama released his long-form birth certificate. It agrees with Obama’s claims that he was born in Hawaii, and that his birthdate is August 4, 1961.
So, that’s over, right? Maybe. Maybe not. If this isn’t over—if some still question where Obama was born—that poses a few questions.
First off, do you simply ignore facts because you fear for corruption or dishonesty, or simply because the facts don’t agree with your idea? If we are looking at government facts, corruption must be a concern, whether you agree with what they are presenting or not.
The most famous example of people not believing what the government “reports” is probably the investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy. In case you don’t know, the Warren Commission–tasked with deciding what happened in the assassination–declared that Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s killer, acted alone.
And, as soon as that was announced, everyone ate a tablespoon of salt. People have large, wide-ranging ideas for who killed Kennedy; we won’t get into those. The simple fact is, people, by and large, did not agree with what the Warren Commission said.
Who can you trust? Recently in the Clarion, Sinclair’s president said that raising tuition might be necessary in order to maintain quality. Do you trust him when he says that?
You might have no reason to believe he’s dishonest… but he’s in charge, and we are skeptical of people in charge. We are a harshly cynical society. But, we constantly see news about corruption and dishonesty from our leaders.
We are, in a sense, trained to be that way.
How many politicians have been elected as the “family values candidate” only to end up having a sex scandal? We have politicians who make decisions–important decisions–on specific matters while receiving campaign donations from companies who work in the specified field. Is that okay?
Perhaps all of this is a reminder to trust in your family, friends and religion. They are what ultimately matters, anyway.
Maybe putting so much faith in a politician is inherently dangerous. Even though countless advertisements try to tell us differently, we don’t really know those people.
If there can be any lesson here, it’s do your research. Don’t believe what you are told. Look things up. Having your own opinion is worth the effort.