I have found that the Internet does give us unprecedented access to information. However, not all information on the Internet is worth having. Now that we have an election coming up, I am having a difficult time finding accurate, fair, and balanced information about candidates. What I find is a bunch of other people’s opinions about the candidates. Should I really base my vote on someone else’s opinion?

We have a participative form of government here in the United States. If you think about it, we have the power. Who we elect will shape not only our future but the future of the entire world. I think we have a responsibility to vote wisely.

As we learn from Spiderman “With great power come great responsibility.” I actually believe, and for good reason, that I have a responsibility to vote and to be informed on the issues I am voting on.

I was just reading a piece today about a candidate and the article was nothing more that twisting the candidates statements out of context, misrepresentations, fear mongering and mudslinging. What followed were comments that followed that same vein.

I actually want to be educated about the issues and I can’t do it. It is as if there is an invisible force that makes getting educated on the issues nearly impossible. Do I really have to dig up my own source documents and research each point? When was the last time you heard from an accountant about the state or federal budgets? We always hear it from people who can’t balance their own checkbook, let alone the government’s budget.

Why is it when we ask for reasons why we should pass a law people attack you? They call you names because you don’t accept what they say and just believe that they have it right. Since when is it wrong to ask for reasons? This just happened to me last month on the gay marriage debate. I was asking a supporter of gay marriage about the role of government in marriage, asking for reasons why they think it is a civil right issue, etc…

I am not trying to be divisive; I am trying to be informed on the issues. I think, with any issue, we should know the pros and the cons and be able to ask questions without being attacked. Instead, you get empty rhetoric and unqualified, biased opinions.

While reading this article, I noticed that it was nothing more than rhetoric and contained nothing scientific about global warming or climate change. I am undecided on the debate of global warming and do like to keep abreast of the latest developments in this field of study. While this article did not increase my knowledge in the area of climate change, the benefit I found in this article was a chance to exercise my critical reading and practice finding fallacious reasoning.

The thing I love about scientism is the appeal, the authority that is often claimed by “overwhelming scientific consensus”; we all agree, therefore, it is true. Which, in my opinion, does not count for much given the “overwhelming scientific consensus” is that nothing can travel faster than light. Given the speed of light theory might have recently been shattered. We await confirmation that the speed of light can be broken so let me use a different example. 60 years ago the “overwhelming scientific consensus” was that the sound barrier could not be broken. So much for the overwhelming scientific consensus, as it turns out, they were all wrong. The number of scientific claims that have been destroyed over the years is countless. Is global warming immune to such mistakes? Are we still so arrogant to think that we have all the answers in spite of constant new discoveries and paradigm shifts?

I also wonder how a consensus is a scientific methodology; it sounds more like a philosophy to me. Truth is truth no matter what the “consensus” came up with. I do grant that if the consensus is made up of qualified people, the likelihood that they are correct is greater, however, it is not a guarantee they are correct. In addition, knowing that the “overwhelming scientific consensus” may have been built on some facts which are now known to have been misrepresented at best and outright fraudulent at worst, statistically lowers the probability their premise is correct. If CO₂ emissions is really the cause of climate change, they have done the greatest disservice to us all by their skullduggery.

If you deny the “overwhelming scientific consensus,” then you are a victim of the “well-funded, highly complex and relatively coordinated denial machine.” Seriously, a conspiracy? The conspiracy card can be played for or against climate change and each side could produce enough damning evidence. Poison the well and fling mud, don’t worry about the facts. The facts should be able to stand by themselves. Mudslinging is the recourse for a weak argument.

Notice this article does not address any claims or counter-claims that are relevant to the scientific discussion. It is nothing more than intellectual bullying and vitriolic attacks. Notice that most comments are nothing more than emotionally loaded rhetoric. Even if I was on the side of climate change, I would want well-reasoned arguments and not rhetoric.

Where has reason and logic gone that we must now accept rhetoric as golden truth?

Related Reading Update:

• Climategate (Phil Jones and Climate Research Unit scandal)
  
• Charles Monnett scandal
  
• Solar activity the real cause of climate change (Jan 2012)
  
• Pro Global Warming report (Oct 2011)