BRYCE ON POLITICS

- “You can’t handle the truth!” – Colonel Nathan R. Jessep (Jack Nicholson)

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Not long ago I ran a series of articles entitled “The Facts About…” which was a four part series providing links on the Internet to research such things as: Unemployment, the Economy, Taxes, and Immigration.

I selected these specific subject areas as I believe they are critical to the November elections. The web links provide assistance in navigating through the sites of several government and nonprofit organizations. Such sites possess a voluminous amount of data on the subject matter. So much so, I thought some links would help people find their way through this extensive labyrinth thereby simplifying how to find the facts.

The links I provided are the same as those used by the media and politicians when researching stories (before they spin them for their particular use). I hoped people would find this series of articles useful as it provides the ability to check the facts themselves as opposed to relying on the media and politicians which can no longer be trusted to accurately report the facts. I distributed these articles through my usual publishing venues where I thought they would catch on like wild fire. Boy did I get this one wrong. As accurate as these articles were, my readership treated it as a “ho hum” subject and my numbers went down.

What I concluded from this experience is that the average voter does not want to know the truth. Instead of possessing an intellectual curiosity to validate the facts, most people are content to rely on the media and their favorite politicians. People will only trust those facts endorsed by the political party or ideology they subscribe to. They would rather be spoonfed the facts (some would say brainwashed) as opposed to quickly researching it themselves. This was a disturbing revelation for me, as it should be to others, but it confirms my belief how easily voters can be manipulated. I hoped we were smarter than this, but I was wrong. The average voter is content to allow others do the thinking for them.

As I learned from these articles, elections are not about the truth, it is about who we trust and what we want to believe. It is also indicative of the power of the media who shapes public opinion to their liking, not due to the facts. It’s no small wonder the public is easily distracted from the real issues of the day and are enamored with frivolous ones. We appear to be a country content to do nothing more than rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Somehow, I am reminded of the line used by Jack Nicholson in the movie “A Few Good Men,” whereby his character Colonel Nathan R. Jessep exclaims in the courtroom, “You can’t handle the truth!” He was right, we can’t. Americans will go into the voting booths in November wearing blinders.

Keep the Faith!

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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim’s columns, see:
timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2012 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

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