The cliche "There are two sides to every story, and the truth is probably found right in the middle." has given rise to a new class of ass; the person who believes that truth is so subjective that it can be found in all cases smack dab in the middle of two "differing" opinions. This is not some localised trivial phenomena nor is it harmless and quaint; it is in fact, quite a dangerous path, and currently the one most traveled (such is the unfortunate nature of "democracy").
"TRUTH, n. An ingenious compound of desirability and appearance. Discovery of truth is the sole purpose of philosophy, which is the most ancient occupation of the human mind and has a fair prospect of existing with increasing activity to the end of time." -Ambrose Bierce
Truth does not require consent of the witness or anyone else. Nor does it require affirmation from the courts, or the press. Truth is above speculation, and opinion... it never defies established laws of physics (known or unknown) and it is the only correct account.
Lies serve to obscure truth... but they cannot change what has actually happened. Nor can they ever become truth in the absence of evidence to the contrary. Beings can debate what actually occurred at some time in the past, and one can come closer to explaining the true story than the other, but this too will not have any effect on what actually occurred.
The truth exists even when no one believes it, or knows what it is... the truth does not care what you think, and it cannot be purchased in exchange for a change in it's nature.
The truth is that I just typed a "U" where the "I" is in the first five words of this sentence... or did I? In this case the only one who will know that truth is me, or someone who has installed some kind of spy ware on my PC keyboard would know for sure... I may have typed "a" for "I", or I might just have typed "I" correctly in the first place .... you will never know for sure, and the truth is that it doesn't matter at all.
But what about the things that we think DO matter? (I would guess for some of us at this point in history that the events in Daley Plaza Nov 22, 1963 would be in that category) The nature of truth does not change.... even then. There is one correct version of events that happened that day, only one...whether anyone knows what it is or not is what is most maddening for most who pursue to know exactly what it was..
So many people find frustration seeking unknowable truths, perhaps just knowing that there is a true story in there somewhere should be enough, but it is not.
Truth cannot side with people, but people can seek out and side with truth... people that are really good at this don't offer an opinion until they have enough checks in a column of observation. People that are really bad at this have an opinion before any evidence is presented (and it is usually quite emotionally based)
Truth can be reported, but not if the reporter changes it in any way to meet their own agenda, then the fact becomes fiction, instantly, with no room for further debate.
The nature of truth can be widened to make someone correct (If you say the earth is 6000 years old, and I say the earth is as old as the earth is, I am more correct than you no matter what, the second I argue more specifically that that, we both become guessers... we do not know the EXACT age of the planet we have educated hypothesis, and folk lore, not candles on an Earth day cake, or rings to count to the core).
I love a good argument about things that are unknowable to the single "human primate" as he runs his ego about the planet for 72 years... especially when it involves defending his need to breed and show off. That's the button that peak oil production hits.
And any one who has been to West Texas can see that this once bountiful Eden of petroleum is no longer a bountiful Eden... it was once a "star of the American road".... now West Texas is a has been. Sure there's still plenty of activity out there, but the golden days of West Texas Intermediate Crude happened about 40-50 years ago.
Each place that has been blessed/cursed with oil has a peak of production.... whether it be the 100 acre "Lazy J" Ranch in Crane County, Texas, the entire state of Texas, the United States, the North American Landmass, or the planet.
The nature of the oil business is always based on deception... but the truth of oil is that it is our basic commodity, and with oil the most basic lie was always that there was plenty of it.
To be continued....
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