If you have not read Mark Twain’s short essay "Corn-Pone Opinions," it would behoove you to do so; that is, IF you are or want to be an intelligent, thinking human being. What Twain says was true in 1901 and is even more relevant today. People, in general, tend to form their opinions from the opinions of those around them, those who influence them (for good or bad), and those whose opinions they respect (whether they deserve that respect or not).
However, today’s world is much different from that of 1901 for a number of reasons. First, the population is much more academically educated than it was when he was alive. Public education has seen to that, in spite of the shortcomings of some of the schools, some of the teachers, and, certainly, some of the administrators. On the whole, however, public education is exceptional in the United States. How it compares with other countries is debatable because other systems operate much differently from ours. Whether they are better or not, whether other populations have the same opportunities to an education as ours do, or whether the political influences shape that education are all points of debate.
Second, what is much different from Twain’s era is the advent of and broad expansion of media, from newspapers to radio to television to the internet. People are inundated daily, hourly, now even minute to minute by facts, opinions, and propaganda from not only television and radio but also Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Is it any wonder that people can get confused and be suspicious of what they see and hear. We now live in an age where thinking skills and education are more important than ever. People in Twain’s lifetime were hearing opinions from neighbors and friends and reading editorials written by people who they didn’t know but had to trust. Today, the person that you trust one day may be proven wrong the next, sometimes even minutes later. How do you find the “needle of truth in this haystack of information?”
Mark Twain would be shocked, as would Will Rogers who followed in his footsteps. Today, more than ever before, schools must spend as much time teaching “thinking skills” as they do reading, writing, math, science, and history. The latter are of little use without the ability to think, to tear apart an argument or statement and find the truth, the facts (those things for which there is no alternative view). Facts are facts; opinions change!
Yes, people will often share opinions with their friends, relatives, and neighbors simply to “go along,” but in today’s world, that isn’t good enough. Our lives, our jobs, our safety, and our freedom depend now, more than ever, on basing our opinion/beliefs (those principles for which we stand) on truth, NOT just something that we heard that might sound good at the moment. We must dig deeper and decide what is right or wrong, what is important or not, based on facts, not just what someone else says. Whether you claim to be a Republican, a Democrat, an independent, a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, an American, a Russian, an Arab, or anything else, TRUTH is TRUTH; FACTS are FACTS.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.