"God is Great, Beer is Good, People are Crazy"

by Peter Johnson

This is the third, and perhaps the last in a series of opinions/editorials featuring one person's view of the human condition; specifically how this condition controls how we go about our daily lives and interact with others in our communities. I came across a piece titled: ‘The 10 Non-Commandments'. These are my thoughts on those thoughts.

1. Be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence.

Is it becoming more the case that too many people judge a particular 'truth' or ‘fact' as valid and unquestionable because of the number of 'likes' that it has received? Critical thinking is a skill, it is something that has to be taught, to be learned. It has to be exercised, taken out for a walk frequently, to be developed. If I state that this skill is rarely seen these days, is that true? Is it a fact, just because I have stated that it is so?

2. Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, rather than what you wish to be true.

Coming into an argument or discussion with preconceived notions or wishes will only cloud your thinking. It will not give you clarity. What if your daily news source was exclusively Fox News? They have just admitted that they have lied, repeatedly, to their viewers to the tune of $787,000,000---that U.S. dollars. The loyal followers of this network will be loath to accept that they have been played the fool. Despite mounting evidence, they will insist that the courts are corrupt, judges have been compromised, and only they possess the truth. They make lack evidence, but they have their own ‘truth'. It seems they skipped school the day the lesson on, "Maybe you're the one who is wrong if everyone else sees things differently', was being taught. Maybe they skipped a lot of school.

3. The scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world.

This, in the opinion of many academics and pedagogists, is one of the most important things to teach to ALL children. It is the root of scientific discovery, and knowledge. It is the cause of the advancement of mankind into the Industrial Age, and then, into this modern erathe Atomic Age? The Space Age? Something is not true just because someone has said it over and over. It is only theory. It is only true if it can be verified by scientific analysis, i.e. testing. The test is to have others repeat the process and get the same results. The same with opinions: they have to be verifiable. One's opinion is merely that, nothing more.. as is the case for all of this.

4. Every person has the right to the absolute control of their own body.

The most infamous 'old boys club' in North America, is the Republican Party, in the U.S. And this body passed legislation affecting women's access to birth control and abortion? What's wrong with this picture? Everything.Perhaps those who wrap themselves up in patriotism, tightly clenching a bible, should spend more time reading the words of The Teacher in the New Testament, rather than some of the words in the Old(e). I prefer the Canadian preference that features a healthy separation of Church and State.

5. God is not necessary to be a good person or to live