“Believe What You Want”? Part 3

Yesterday I mentioned, in part 2 of this series, that:

Because seemingly innocuous issues are ignored and socially accepted, we are having trouble with more consequential issues of a similar type. First, let’s look at the seemingly ”innocuous issues”:

We generally accept–in polite company and even among family and friends–that some people have very different opinions on the truth or falseness of what are actually objective facts. For example:

1. It is an objective and historical fact, verifiable with millions (if not billions) of pieces of documented evidence, that human beings have been to the moon (nine times, landing there 6 times, with twelve men having been on the lunar surface and 27 men having visited lunar orbit). It is perhaps the most stunningly and thoroughly documented set of historical events in human history–having involved hundreds of thousands of Americans and hundreds of people from different countries and their governments–around the world–and it exists as history in the modern era — meaning many of us were alive during all the missions there — including this author!

2. It is an historically, mathematically, scientifically and photographically proven physical and geometrically verifiable fact that the Earth is an oblate sphere (“the Earth is round”)–and has been known to be such for thousands of years–provable every day by standard observations and especially with the advent of the aerospace industry — since the nineteen-sixties.

3. It is an observable and documented scientific fact that no one we know can prove with evidence that any one of us–minus the aid of technology–can be visited by “angels”, become pregnant without sexual intercourse, be guided by a moving star directed in its motion for one or a group, be “born of a virgin”, fly or hover without equipment, walk on a body of liquid water, transubstantiate, heal the sick without medicine or with hands alone, turn water into beverages nor loaves into fishes, survive crucifixion when it has actually been performed correctly and the victim is actually dead, nor emerge from a crypt or tomb after actually having actually died.

And yet–we accept social, familial and professional relationships with people who deny these common sense- and scientific- facts–to the extent that we will befriend, consort with, wed, hire, work with and celebrate life with them–entrusting them with our reputations and families’ safety; we do so because we consider them — in most cases — to be people only exhibiting differences of opinion — or “belief”: that mysterious word that shuts down reason, logic, arguments and minds.

We don’t say–in most situations, nor in polite company–that the above beliefs are a case of mental illness or a lack of intelligence–even when we know such deniers of facts have been exposed intelligibly and intelligently to the evidence of the facts–but are still reluctant to accept those facts out of–ostensibly–humble reason and honesty. Why?

A. We simply say they might be ignorant — not of the facts, per se — of course–but of the requisite understanding necessary to adequately comprehend and accept the facts.

B. In other cases, we say they suffer some delusion, like in having ‘a mote in one’s eye’–or caused by upbringing, or due to politics, or brought about by “religion”: that other all-encompassing excuse–or worse….

C. It is due to self-convincing and/or a ruse, which enables deniers to square their relations with others, for the purposes of remaining acquainted, remaining part of a couple (married or dating), remaining friends, remaining employed or for relatively social and/or professional acceptance by peers and superiors; it is also done to set an example for children — or in the very worst cases, to keep one’s head attached to one’s body and to keep oneself alive.

This latter set of reasons (in ‘C’) points to simple dishonesty–be it inner or outer or both–but as we can plainly surmise, is sometimes quite unfortunately justified.

And again, I shall continue this tomorrow and leave this much for you to think about. I’ll continue talking about this next time, here.

Thank you for reading…. I wish you Love, Peace, Joy, Imagination and Enlightenment.

Sincerely,
C. Charles Atteniese,
Tokyo

Copyright 2021 C. Charles Atteniese/All rights reserved