Facts Matter. What You "Believe" Doesn't.

This really doesn't have anything to do with running but it got too long to be posted anywhere else. Plus, this is my page so I can do whatever I want here. Thanks for reading.

A nice Facebook friend posted an "article" about Obama and his "accomplishments." (I am not posting their name because they are simple going to represent a problem and I am not trying to mock them specifically.) This is a pretty typical thing which makes the rounds and contains some info about someone that the person doesn't like. Often people don't take two seconds to even check if it is real (e.g., I hate Trump but I know he never said to People magazine in 1987 that he would run as a GOP b/c the GOP is dumb.) So, I pointed this out to the person. We had the following exchange with some of that person's friends chiming in.

If you haven't seen the John Oliver segment about Newt Gingrich and the proliferation of "feelings" and "thoughts" having the same footing as  facts watch here. --->

Why am I tying these two together? Because this shit is SCARY. You can see how people (of all beliefs, political parties, etc.) can somehow make a fact equal to what they think. Facts are unaffected by your thoughts. But somehow, either it is more prevalent, or more in our face because of social media, we are seeing more and more where people are equating things which do not equate.

* Ken Ham, he of the biblical literalism stating the Earth is 6,000 years old, doesn't deserve to "debate" anyone of scientific merit. His opposition doesn't mean he has equal standing. 

* Jenny McCarthy doesn't get to tell us autism is caused by vaccination because:
1. it doesn't;
2. she has nothing of value to contribute to the conversation. 

* James Inhofe doesn't get to challenge climate change because it snowed in FEBRUARY IN WASHINGTON EFFING D.C.!That is what it does in the winter, you moron. 

I see this false equivalency and know that trying to debunk it makes you look like a jerk, or you get brushed aside for being a know-it-all. (One case in point was when I said I wouldn't ever run a race put on by Mitch Harper - a Race Director now known for pulling the flag and then the arm of Code Pink Protestor, Medea Benjamin.  I was asked why wouldn't run those races and I said I don't supporter batterers. When asked where the battery happened I pointed it out (11 seconds into this video.) I was then told I must be a member of the media because only they use the word "battery" and then dismissed by another pedantic nonsensical commenter.  You know, because I know the meaning of words. Hey look, I did include something about running!)  

But it isn't OK to continue to spread false information. Or be willingly ignorant. Maybe when your ramblings were confined to the beauty parlor or the local bar it was at least palatable but when you choose to ignore facts, ignore the truth, and blatantly have zero regard for the aftermath which comes from your actions, you get Donald Trump.

And from the man who actually wrote The Art of The Deal who “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”  Sure, that is his belief but it is one based on facts.  

You know, those pesky little things which matter.