Facts and Opinions

I’ve been down this road a few times before. Concept, there are “facts” and there are “opinions.” And, guess what, they are different things.

A fact is anything that can be objectively verified. You cannot challenge a fact once it has been established as accurate. You can challenge its accuracy, but once its accuracy has been established, you have to deal with it.

Allow me to provide an example. In a conversation about global warming I made the statement that a Pew Research study showed that 80% of scientists accept that global warming is occurring. Someone “challenged my numbers.” Well, you can’t challenge what I said because it is an absolute fact. The Pew Research study did exist and 80% was the number it published. You can challenge Pew Research’s methodology or conclusions or whatever, but that’s much harder than challenging what you thought was my opinion.

If I had simply said “80% of scientists accept global warming,” then the challenge, as stated, would have been appropriate. If I couldn’t produce a citation, then it’s simply my opinion and, by definition, opinions are subjective. Even if I could produce a citation, it might just be the opinion of someone else.

Now, it’s been my experience that Liberals understands this more than Conservatives (yes, that is an opinion that you would be within your rights to challenge). It’s also been my experience that the reason for this (here comes another opinion) is that the evidence is more often on the Liberal side.

To the Liberal, Correct = True. To the Conservative, Correct = Moral and, unfortunately, True is not always the same thing as Moral. The Conservative tends to look at things through a prism of subjective morality. The Liberal tends to look at things through prism of objective truth (there’s another opinion you can challenge to your heart’s content). Keep in mind however that either the Conservative’s Morality or the Liberal’s Truth can be challenged as wrong.

Why do I say this? Well, let’s consider some of the hot button issues shall we?

Abortion
To the Conservative this is murder and therefore morally wrong = Subjective Morality. To the Liberal there are cases where an abortion may be necessary = Objective Truth. So who decides when, if ever, an abortion is necessary?

Religion
To a Conservative, faith is a virtue = Subjective Morality. To a Liberal, show me the evidence = Objective Truth.

Evolution
To a Conservative, the bible says it and that settles it = Subjective Morality. To a Liberal, the scientific evidence indicates…=Objective Truth.

Global Warming
To a Conservative, God is in charge and man cannot undo God’s creation = Subjective Morality. To a Liberal, the scientific evidence indicates…=Objective Truth.

Vaccinations
To a Conservative, my mommy sense tells me… = Subjective Morality. To a Liberal, the scientific evidence indicates…=Objective Truth.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? One more.

Balancing the Budget
To a Conservative, cut taxes (especially for the rich), reduce spending and depend upon Supply Side Tax Growth = Wishful Thinking Stupidity. To a Liberal, raise taxes and keep spending = More Wishful Thinking Stupidity.

Ok, so that one didn’t precisely work out.

The reality is that none of these positions are facts. All of them are simply opinions and opinions can always be challenged. Whether the opinion is driven by one’s view of morality or one’s view of reality doesn’t really matter. It’s still all a matter of opinion.

It’s been my experience that both Liberals and Conservatives tend to forget that little point and often equate opinion with knowledge. Perhaps that’s why we no longer seem to be able to arrive at a working compromise.