Sincerity, no matter its intensity, does NOT confirm intelligence!

By Joseph Walther

Martyrdom never confirms the factuality OF a cause; it only addresses the martyr’s belief IN a cause. Likewise, there is no inherent relationship between sincerity and intelligence. You can be as sincere as it gets and still be stupid.

Several things make this apparent in our daily lives. Three of the most egregious ones, however, are politically oriented radio call-in shows, the flawed logic that only addicted gamblers seem to demonstrate, and a blind adherence to religious dogma (no matter how seemingly ridiculous).

First, politically oriented call-in radio shows…

I avoid listening to these shows as much as I can. It isn’t that I’m disinterested in politics; it’s just that these shows seem to do nothing but increase our social dysfunction.

I don’t blame the radio hosts, mind you. Without callers, these people wouldn’t even be on the air. The callers, of course, believe with every fiber of their beings that their individual assessments of the “problem” are correct in every detail.

Over the course of many years, tabloid newspapers, magazines, and TV shows have mastered a reporting technique called “baiting.” It works very effectively, too. Here’s how.

Never report the whole story. Real news and the supporting facts—in their proper context—are not necessary. What’s important is reporting only selective elements of the story. Doing it this way boosts TV ratings and reader numbers while leaving people free to fill in their OWN details.

An alarmingly growing number of people in this country have become big fans of “what might have happened.” Nothing satisfies our lust for this like hearing about “potential” facts, “likely scenarios,” and “gut feelings.

TV cable talking heads like Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Keith Olbermann, and Wolf Blitzer—to name a few—and radio call-in gurus like Neo-conservative Rush Limbaugh AND his many Liberal counterparts on Radio America have all mastered the art of reporting “speculation” as news.

This is why many people “know” that Barack Obama is a Muslim. It’s why millions of voters “know” that John McCain is a moderate. It’s why some people, though no longer that many, “know” that George W. Bush is brighter than he seems.

It’s also why, to paraphrase Charlie Reese, we perpetually allow politicians to create so many problems and then campaign against them. It’s why we permit 545 people—100 senators, 435 representatives, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices to create the problems we face in this country.

We ALWAYS fail to hold any of them directly accountable for the mess we’re now facing. It’s just too easy to blame it all on Washington lobbyists.

While we can’t do anything about the Supreme Court justices, we sure as hell can fire the senators (who confirm Supreme Court nominees), the congressional representatives, president (who nominates candidates for the Supreme Court), and the other politicians who fail to represent the country’s best interests in lieu of their own collective ones.

We won’t though, which is precisely why we deserve what we’re getting and will continue to get until it’s too late.

About addictive gambler logic…

At the outset, I have nothing against gambling by responsible, non-addicted gamblers who can afford to do it. For the record, when the Powerball jackpot climbs past the $150-thousand mark, AND I don’t have to wait in some line, I spring for a ticket myself.

A few years ago, I heard a radio advertisement touting the benefits of playing Delaware’s many lottery games. It covered winning amounts and the fact that SOMEONE would win all the while avoiding the laws of probability like the plague.

The last thing the radio announcer said was, “Remember, the less you bet the more you’ll lose when you win!” While I simply chuckled over it, many gambling-addicted listeners may have taken it seriously.

Thirty-five minutes later, I stopped at a convenience store (7-11) for a cup of coffee. As I waited to pay for it, a woman in front of me confirmed my fears.

She had won $79 from a previous purchase of ten dollars worth of those scratch-off lottery tickets. As the clerk counted out her money, she informed him that she’d be buying more tickets.

She proceeded to drop the entire amount on additional tickets. The woman who was with her—I think they were sisters—jumped all over her case for “blowing” ALL of her winnings on more “stupid” lottery tickets.

“I just won $80-bucks. I’m playing with ‘their’ money,” she said. I just shook my head. It simply didn’t register with her that the second she won those 79-dollars, it ceased to be the “their” money and became HER’S.

“Remember, folks, the less you bet the more you lose when you win.” I’m guessing that announcer had this woman in mind when he said this. Yes, it’s true. You can be sincere and still be stupid!

And, about blind adherence to religious dogma…

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most eloquent speeches in the history of this country: the Gettysburg Address. Less than 24-hours later, the Chicago Times expressed its great disdain for it, as well as for Mr. Lincoln, with the following editorial.

“The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dish-watery utterances of the man who has been pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States.”

A year or so ago, George W. Bush—our current President—said, “The jury is still out on evolution.” The Conservatives didn’t as much as blink over the statement and the Liberals’ response to it was tepid at best.

While science can never prove a theory true, we assign the label, “robust” to those theories that have withstood the test of time and challenge. Solid theories explain things. The more things a theory explains and the more accurately we can use it to predict outcomes, the more robust it becomes.

Evolution is the best theory—based on valid falsifiable hypotheses—that we currently have to explain from whence we came. It does not repudiate Intelligent Design or Creationism. It can’t. These are faith-based as opposed to valid falsifiable hypotheses.

In other words, God may be real. Neither legitimate science, in general, nor evolutionary theory, in particular, attempts to repudiate this possibility. It simply attempts to explain what we know relative to natural law.

George W. Bush, the current leader of the free world, openly chooses to ignore vast stores of human knowledge and scientific experience in such fields as Astronomy, Genetics, Paleontology, Geology, and Physics.

All of these point to some natural process that has gotten us, as one of millions of global species that have existed, from the Big Bang to where we are now. While science may find a better explanatory theory some day, EVOLUTION is the best one we have right now.

Denying it out of hand because the idea of humans evolving from monkeys is too distasteful simply makes the deniers appear silly, not to mention the fact that they have no idea of how the process has worked.

Besides, if we could read the monkeys’ minds, we’d probably find that they aren’t at all enthusiastic over human science blaming the fact of OUR existence on THEM!

Anyway, go figure. The Chicago Times condemned one of the most revered presidents in our nation’s history over one of the most moving, heart-felt speeches in our history.

Yet, not a peep over a current president’s repudiation of one of the most robust theories in human history. Let me repeat it; a person can be sincere and still be stupid!

Tune in same time next week. Have a safe and happy 4^th of July. Don’t drink and drive. If you do and you kill or seriously injure someone, will you be able to live with it? Besides, the cops will be out in force. Do you have any idea what happens to your auto-insurance rates after a DUI conviction?

Joe Walther is a freelance writer and publisher of The True Facts. You may comment on his column by clicking here.