Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of how we know what we know, or why we believe what we believe. If your parents are Muslim, it is likely you are Muslim. Likewise if your parents were Catholic, you are likely a Catholic. Likewise with Jews and Muslims, and in fact Republican and Democrats, or whatever other label you think of, it is statistically likely that you believe what your parents believe, beca...use that is what you were taught at an early age.

Some people change that, of course, sometimes after careful consideration and sometimes to get back at Mom and Dad. Some people do believe the same things as their parents even after careful consideration.

Of course not all parents can be correct. I should note that Muslims and Jews and Catholics can't all be correct, because they believe vastly different things. Same with Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, capitalists and communists. Someone in the end is right and someone is wrong, and epistemology is the study of how we really can know and believe what we know and believe.

For my part, if you are one of the people that roots for your parents team because that is what you were told by Mommy and Daddy, and you have never really paused to give it much thought because you are "just not interested in those things", then please understand that your opinion has zero value in my world. You don't really hold opinions, you have faith in what your mother and father told you. That's fine but as I said holds no value for me.

If you find yourself rooting and voted and spouting your opinion and you realize you have never taken the time to figure out WHY you believe what you believe, then I might suggest you should be quiet. I love talking to those who hold different opinions than I do who have carefully considered why believe what they believe. Those folks tend to open my eyes about things and they are the only ones who ever end up changing my mind, because they have considered the reasons for what they are saying.

The rest, the "team players", often give confusing and irrational explanations that don't often even make sense to them.

It is humbling to look at why you believe what you believe, and it removes a lot of arrogance and mistrust of others, but if we don't all start looking at what we believe we are going to be fighting each other until there is nothing left to fight over. Even if it is as simple as saying a small phrase that frightens so many of us, please consider occasionally saying "I don't know", especially when that is the truth.

Founders versus health care

We hold these truths to be self evident, that ALL men are endowed by their CREATOR with certain INALIENABLE rights, among them life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness.

Our founders did not GIVE us rights, they acknowledged that we already had them.

How can I take away your inalienable rights simply by not going to work in the morning? If other people do not work for your benefit, they "ta...ke away" your right to health care, simply by doing nothing.

The founders were deep thinkers who not only considered their epistemology, they rejected the British notions they were taught as children, and created a most amazing document. After lots of great arguments and disagreements and bickering and THINKING.

Now, people who have not given so much thought to such things have decided they know better and that we have a "right" to material goods and services. Of course, someone else has to go to work to provide that but we don't want to "think" about that. We are smarter than the founders.

And since we know some people may disagree, we will need to "enforce", (not protect, as with freedom of speech), we must "enforce" this right by using agencies such as the IRS.

Tangled webs are created by lazy minds. Epistemology matters