Lloyd Lofthouse

Opinions versus the Truth – are they one and the same?

At the Talkers Magazine convention, Glenn Beck said he regretted some of his fiery opinions, because they caused a division in the country. Then he said, “I don’t wish I could take back the truth that was spoken but perhaps—not perhaps—many times I could have said it differently.” Source: Yahoo.com

Whose truth was Beck talking about? There are so many truths to choose from. For a few examples: gun control, global warming, abortion and separation of Church and State

Beck has supported individual gun ownership rights and is against gun control legislation.

He also thinks that there is a lack of evidence that human activity is the main cause of global warming.

On the O’Reilly show, Beck has said, “Abortion is killing–it’s killing someone.”

According to NewsHounds.us, Glenn Beck also wants to abolish separation of Church and State.

We now have a better idea what Glenn Beck thinks is the truth. Because someone like Glenn Beck has opinions on these issues, does that mean his opinions are the truth?

To discover the popular truth, what do most Americans think about these same issues?

On April 9, 2013, A new Gallup poll on climate change reported, “from what you have heard or read, do you believe increases in the Earth’s temperature over the last century are due more to the effects of pollution from human activities or natural changes in the environment that are not due to human activities?” 57% of respondents chose the human activities response and 39% chose the natural changes response. Source: National Center for Science Education.com

Therefore, the majority of Americans think that global warming is caused by human activity.

On the right to own arms, Gallup reported that 92% of Americans support background checks; 44% support an assault-weapons ban and 58% want a ban on high-capacity magazines. Source: Center for American Progress.org

Therefore, the majority of Americans think that there should be some tougher laws on gun ownership.

On abortion, Gallup reported on January 22, 2013 that, “Forty years after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Roe v. Wade, significantly more Americans want the landmark abortion decision kept in place rather than overturned, 53% to 29%. Another 18% have no opinion, the highest level of uncertainty Gallup has recorded on this question in trends dating to 1989.” Source: First Amendment Center.org

Therefore, the majority of Americans think women should have the legal right to an abortion.

Regarding separation of Church and State: On July 14, 2011, it was reported that, “A whopping 67% of the American people agree that the First Amendment “requires a clear separation of church and state,” according to the 2011 State of the First Amendment survey released July 12 by the First Amendment Center.

Therefore, the majority of Americans think there should be a clear separation between Church and State.

It seems that almost everyone has an opinion and then thinks that opinion is the truth.

There is a minority that believes one truth and a majority that believes another. Then there are people that don’t know what to think.

What truth do you support in these issues, and do you support laws to legislate opinions into a truth that can get you arrested and sent to prison?

Does the majority force its truth on the minority? Or does the minority force its truth on the majority? And is it okay to lie to manipulate public support for your opinions—your truths?

Discover Another Sky-is-Falling Guru

_______________________

Lloyd Lofthouse is a former U.S. Marine, Vietnam Veteran and English-journalism teacher.

His latest novel is the award winning Running with the Enemy. Blamed for a crime he did not commit while serving in Vietnam, his country considers him a traitor. Ethan Card is a loyal U.S. Marine desperate to prove his innocence or he will never go home again.

And the woman he loves and wants to save was trained to hate and kill Americans.

To follow this Blog via E-mail see upper left-hand column and click on “FOLLOW!”

Lloyd Lofthouse

June 9, 2013

censorship, crime fraud scams, Lloyd Lofthouse, politics, propaganda

a ban on assault weapons, is abortion murder, Is global warming casued by human activity, separation of Church and State, the right of Americans to own guns, The truth as Glenn Beck sees it, what is the truth about Global Warming, when does an opinion become the truth

10 responses to “Opinions versus the Truth – are they one and the same?”

nicholas

October 20, 2013 at 4:28 pm

The reason why so many people think opinions are the truth is because they are lazy and do not take the time to check out the facts. The information is there. All one has to do is look and think.

Reply
1. Lloyd Lofthouse
  
  October 23, 2013 at 7:48 am
  
  It doesn’t take much looking. All one has to do is turn to a reputable unbiased fact check site:
  
  Snopes.com
  http://www.snopes.com/
  
  Vote Smart for the US
  http://votesmart.org/
  
  Fact Check.org (which points out the exaggerations and lies made on both sides). They do the fact checking for all of us and make it easier to find the truth.
  
  BUT the politicians and private sector groups who have political and/or religious agendas have also attacked these sites in an effort to cast doubt on what they say about the lies and misinformation these groups area spreading. Cyber bullies and trolls do the same thing to any site or individual that attempts to confront them and reveal they are sociopaths.
  http://www.factcheck.org/
  
  Reply
Dorine

October 12, 2013 at 10:56 pm

I liked this helpful article. Keep on posting!

Reply
1. Lloyd Lofthouse
  
  October 13, 2013 at 8:03 am
  
  Thank you. I plan to keep writing.
  
  Reply
notesfromrumbleycottage

June 12, 2013 at 9:30 am

My problem with Beck is not his opinions but the lack of research that goes into his opinions. I cannot listen to him without wanting to smack him upside the head to correct whatever untruth he has just spouted. This would explain why I do not listen to him all that often.

Reply
1. Lloyd Lofthouse
  
  June 12, 2013 at 2:00 pm
  
  I agree. Every time I have researched a claim made by people like Beck, Limbaugh, Prager and others, I have found the claim misleading and wrong. People like Beck are entertainers who are paid to attract an audience and the audience attracts the advertisers. According to Celebrity Networth, Beck is wroth $105 million and he earned that money through his nationally syndicated talk radio show and Glenn Beck program. For telling lies and misleading people, Rush Limbaugh is worth $350 million and his annual salary is $40 million.
  
  How do they earn that kind of money? By being controversial and the best way to do that is through misleading comments and lies.
  
  Reply
  1. notesfromrumbleycottage
    
    June 12, 2013 at 2:44 pm
    
    I would not mind earn just a bit of that. But if that is what you have to do to get it, well, looking in the mirror would be a difficult thing.
  2. Lloyd Lofthouse
    
    June 12, 2013 at 3:53 pm
    
    Agreed. I couldn’t live with myself. There’s this poem by Dale Wimbrow called “The Face in the Glass” that pretty much says it all.
    
    Here’s a link to a post I wrote about this poem: https://lloydlofthouse.org/2012/05/19/the-face-in-the-glass-by-dale-wimbrow/
Richard Sutton

June 9, 2013 at 8:57 am

Glenn Beck is to Truth as Bean Burrito is to Cuisine. There may be some common seasoning elements in there, but it is a whole ‘nother animal. Of course, he has scads of self-generated support opinions to back himself up, as do most of the “prepare for the coming disaster” crowd. Why, the man must be made of sock-puppets!

Reply
1. Lloyd Lofthouse
  
  June 9, 2013 at 2:46 pm
  
  Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people most of the time and most of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.” Is it possible that the mob that follows and agrees with Beck belong to the “you can fool some of the people most of the time” crowd?
  
  And the Beck followers would claim the majority that doesn’t agree with Beck’s opinions has been brainwashed making that another Beck opinionated fact.
  
  Reply