Truth is Stranger than Fiction
A friend recently shared an article on Facebook that gave me pause. While scrolling through my timeline, the title “Obama Announces Plan to forgive all Student Loans” caught my eye. My first thought was “then someone needs to refund the money I paid back when I had a student loan!” I opened the article and read it to completion without checking the original source. Although, not completely sure that I believed it, it seemed plausible enough based on other decisions made by the current administration. Luckily, I had the hindsight to check the source. When I discovered it was “The Daily Currant” I knew immediately it was not credible. As I flipped back to Facebook I saw that my friend who posted it had also realized it was satire–but not before several people had commented, with almost half believing it to be true.
I personally think our country is in a sad state of affairs when we can’t accept the “news” at face value. We have long known that the Mainstream Media puts their own spin on most every story reported, but rarely have they been caught reporting something without at least a small element of truth in it. On the other hand, the so-called “satire” sights (The Onion and The Daily Current, for example) publish completely fabricated stories and write them as if factual.
It is not only the media that you cannot believe. Regarding Syria, President Obama said his office has the power to order a strike on Syria without Congressional approval. On what authority do you have this power, Mr. President? In 2007 you told the Boston Globe that no president can use military force absent an “actual or imminent threat to the nation” without first getting Congress’ approval. Do you in fact believe, Mr. President, that our country is under an “actual or imminent threat” from Syria? Vice President Biden vowed to impeach President George W. Bush in 2007 if he bombed Iran without Congressional approval. What has changed in the past 6 years? Based on this statement, Biden should be calling for Obama’s impeachment as well.
Can we trust the President when he says he is “certain” that Syria has used chemical weapons? This is the same man that covered up Fast and Furious, lied about Benghazi, lied about the IRS targeting specific groups and lied about the NSA spying. Which is truth and which is fiction?
The complete quote by Mark Twain is, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” After all, if something implausible happens we adjust our way of thinking to accept this as a new truth, while Fiction is constrained by what we already know or have perceived. These days, Mr. Twain’s quote is sadly…the truth.
