“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as
you please”
Mark Twain
It
is a perpetual paradox that in an Age of abundance in knowledge and
communication means to attain it there seem to be so many who prefer not to
acquire its genuine insights in the formation of their opinions and judgements.
"Facts" are far too frequently dispersed from the mouths of folks who
are least in the know with respect to first-hand accounts and
experience, yet the roots of such diseased discourse permeate an air of
legitimacy in impressionable intellects that can be staggering in their
propagation. "Hey, did you hear....", perks the ears with titillating
pronouncements that all too often are born from malice and ill intents, or sometimes simply the misguided proliferation of misinformation. It is a truism of life
that one should always be cautious in casting stones, lest boulders boomerang
back to crush the caster.
In
an era of cynicism and distrust and a world that seems governed more by passion
and prejudice than by genuine reason I am reminded of a poem I came upon in
University more than a quarter century ago that reeks with pungent poignancy and
prophetic wisdom for contemporary times:
“God give us men. The time demands
Strong minds, great hearts,
Truth, faith and willing hands;
Men whom the lust of office does
not kill;
Men who possess opinions and a
will;
Men who have honor; men who will
not lie;
Men who can stand before a
demagogue
And damn his treacherous
flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned men, who
live above the fog
In public duty and in private
thinking.”
John
G. Holland
No comments:
Post a Comment