You may have struggled lately to understand how folks can see the exact same evidence and come up with completely divergent opinions or you may wonder how friends with similar backgrounds can loathe or love the current president. It seems that Americans are screaming this blog title Beatles’ lyric at each other and then becoming frustrated when the “other side” refuses to acknowledge their arguments.  Gridlock doesn’t just exist in Washington but within society as well and while I can do nothing to make someone hear you out I may be able to explain why they can’t see it your way.  You may still hold their beliefs against them but most highly effective people will tell you to seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Fact, Opinion, and Belief

For clarity’s sake I’m going to share my definition of each of these three for the purposes of this blog and explain how they are interconnected and finally demonstrate how you have probably already seen them deployed.  I use these definitions in my AP Government class and I borrowed much of it from the writing center at Colorado State who were inspired by The Little, Brown Handbook.  Let’s begin with the term “fact”.  

A fact is a piece of evidence that is verifiable and can be proven as long as we trust the measuring device or delivery of the information.  It may contain measurements, dates, or even a testimony which of course doesn’t mean that what is recorded in the testimony is factually correct but that it is at least legitimate.  Facts, by themselves, are not debatable so the existence of alternative facts cannot be a real case.  What you make of facts can be debated and that is my basis for describing what an opinion is.  

An opinion is a judgment that is formed by an interpretation of facts and if done in good faith draws a reasonable conclusion.  Opinions, by their nature, are not permanent because the addition of contradictory facts may alter initial thoughts and conversely adding more supporting evidence may strengthen the opinion.  You will often hear an opinion stated as an “I believe” statement but beliefs are different from opinions but influence them greatly.

A belief is a deeply held conviction based on religion, culture, or a personal morality and as such expresses a viewpoint that in effect cannot be challenged.  They aren’t based on facts and therefore can’t really be disproven or even contested, at least not rationally.  And although these beliefs aren’t based on facts they do influence how we consume facts and turn them into opinions.  An explanatory statement or “equation” that I use in class is that our beliefs provide the lens through which we take in facts to form opinions.  And these opinions are what we want others to see our way but convictions aren’t apt to change.

What happened in Minneapolis?

Over the last three weeks federal agents have killed two American citizens during a surge in ICE/Border Patrol activities and an already polarized country has somehow become more so.  The first incident, which led to the death of Renee Good, had enough gray area that “both sides” claimed the same facts told two very different stories and here is where beliefs come in to shape opinion.  If you are of the belief that America is for Americans and that it is being destroyed and overrun by illegal immigrants then she was unlawfully obstructing official federal work and endangered an officer who defended himself and others by using justified lethal force.  If, however, your beliefs are built around ideas of human equality and that America is a melting pot made stronger through diversity then she was killed by an agent of an authoritarian state bent on Christian nationalist ideology. Same facts, different opinions. But the death of Alex Pretti seems to be on a whole other level.

In the immediate aftermath, Pretti was described as an “assassin” who was “brandishing” a pistol and that it appeared he “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement.”  The facts in this instance, the video evidence, doesn’t seem to back those claims but I’ve already seen prevarications on social media claiming obstruction of justice and assertions that being armed somehow vacates other civil liberties.  Beliefs are so strong in forming opinions that folks who have warned for years that the second amendment was the most important protection against government overreach now feel that sometimes being armed is a bad thing. Strange days indeed.

One of my strongest beliefs is that the United States of America is a great nation and that almost all of its citizens love it dearly even if they have wildly different opinions about what America is and what makes it great.  If we can find the common ground and understanding that, although some of our beliefs and opinions differ, most of our convictions about family, patriotism, and justice mirror each other and that with a little grace we can make it through these difficult times.  “Try to see it my way” is the first line of the song and depending on your interpretation the Beatles may have been singing about romantic love or it could also be applied to society as a whole.  Either way my focus will continue to be on the last lines of the song which were considered so vital that they repeat.  “We can work it out, we can work it out.”

Why a Stone?

Coming up this June I’m walking the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage in Spain popular since medieval times to challenge myself, commune with nature and my fellow man, and feed my soul.  I’m keeping a hand written journal for both preparation prior to and the recording of observations during but I also thought I could share from it with you.  I don’t know how frequently but we shall see.  

It is a tradition when you walk the Camino to carry a stone with you, either from home or the beginning of your journey.  This stone can represent many things from a burden you wish to release or possibly an answer to a prayer or question that you seek.  For me my stone represents my connection to and gratitude for the lives of the loved ones I lost in 2025.  Starting with Dad in June and then Mimi and Ed at the end of July it was indeed a cruel summer.  In their memory I will carry mementos of the things that they loved with me and at a high point on the Camino at the foot of an iron Cross outside of Foncebadón I will lay these things down. 

In trying to think of what might best represent them I thought it more important to choose something that I connect with them and for all three it was fairly obvious. Mimi loved the beach and referred to it as her “Happy Place.”  There is a painted sign at the condo which reads “If you’re lucky enough to be at the beach then you’re lucky enough” and that was a truism that she firmly believed.  Many words of wisdom she passed along as she reclined in the South Carolina sunshine and I can still see her with her hand shading her eyes as the grandchildren splashed in the waves. So for her I will scoop a small container of sand from Pawley’s Island and carry it to the Camino.

For Dad I chose sand as well but anyone that knew him understood that he would rather be in the mountains than at the beach.  So the only sand he often came near was on a golf course. But now that I think about it I don’t recall him ever being in the sand although he did give me lessons on how to get out. Instead of gathering sand from a random course, I’m heading to his home course in Cookeville to pull a little sand from the greenside bunker at hole number 8.  Dad and Debbie’s back patio overlooks the green and the hilarity of sitting with him sipping a cold beer as he provided commentary on the play we were witnessing is a set of memories that I cherish.  Hopefully White Plains won’t mind if I take just a little since I’m sure Dad never removed any during his numerous rounds there. 

Before hearing about the stone tradition for the Camino I considered three different sets of sand commingled for my journey and, if so, no sand would better represent my memories of Ed than that from the island where we spent summer days on Lake Marion.  Retrieving it would require some effort but I was committed until my change of plans and I really wanted a stone to carry with me as I prepared for my walk as a daily reminder.  So a few weeks ago when I was saying goodbye to mom I looked on the foyer table at a selection of pottery sherds and arrowheads.  I spent many Sunday afternoons walking plowed fields with him in search of arrowheads and I can still feel the silty bottom of the lake as we used our feet to feel for pottery.  I selected a nondescript fragment with no particular significance and stuck it in my pocket.  Now I put it in my pocket when I leave the house and place it with my keys and wallet when I return.  And several times during the day I fiddle with it and remember the three of them and in a few months I will set it down in Spain.  

I’ve heard it said that when you walk the Camino you really walk it three times:  one while you are planning in anticipation, one while you are on the Camino itself, and then one in your memories.  I’m starting to believe it and I’m thoroughly enjoying the first stage as the four of us prepare for the adventure of a lifetime.  So until my next entry I will leave you with the salutation that pilgrims give to each other.  Buen Camino!

The original purpose for this blog was threefold: to explain some of my political beliefs and understandings, to shine light on issues that I thought were important, and to write about friends and family that I love without (hopefully) embarrassing my wife or mother. I’ve always tried to follow the creed of “attack ideas not people” and hopefully no one has ever felt that a belief that they held dear, which I did not, made us enemies in any way but this post might be different. Because lately there have been some local and world events that I’m unable to wrap my head around any other perspective than my own. So I will lay them out and if you disagree please reach out to me through this blog so that I might gain some understanding.  I can be hardheaded but I never want to be accused of having a closed mind. 

January 6th

How you define what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 gives a good indication as to your feelings about it, with descriptions ranging from “protest” to “insurrection” to “treason”.  What I saw was a crowd move from a “Stop the Steal” rally to the Capitol where some attacked police officers, breached the building, and stopped for a time the official certification of the electoral process. Trump’s speech at the rally had its share of falsehoods and unfounded claims of election fraud peppered with some inflammatory rhetoric about “fighting like hell” and “we’re just not going to let that happen.” I often say about crowds at concerts and sporting events that they are only as smart as the dumbest person there and I feel confident that although there were folks there only in protest, many had more nefarious thoughts in mind.  Showing up with tactical gear, bear spray, and zip ties for handcuffs shows a level of premeditation that doesn’t square with peaceful protest.  

Political motivations aside, in my judgment it was certainly criminal.  The legal system in the U.S. does have varying levels of charges based on intent but the amount of politicized stupidity that I’ve heard following the event was shocking.  I deal with teenagers for a living but some of the excuses from these folks would make a high school freshman blush.  And then to have them investigated, tried, and convicted only to be characterized as political prisoners shook my faith in my own eyes and my fellow citizens.  That they were summarily pardoned was beyond my wildest imagination and now the very politicians who cowered during the attack champion them.  While watching January 6 unfold, I stood in front of my television open mouthed and teary eyed and realized I hadn’t felt the same emotion since the night I watched Notre Dame Cathedral burn.  Centuries old institutions defiled in a matter of hours; one acknowledged as a tragedy and the other dismissed as merely political theater.

Gaza

I understand that writing about anything to do with Israel runs the risk of offending practically everyone I know, from my Jewish and Muslim friends to my Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters.  I also understand that the history of conflict in this area started long before the latest conflagration on October 7, 2023 when Hamas militants attacked, murdered, raped, and kidnapped thousands. Those heinous brutalities have been met with a retaliation by the Israeli Military that has left Gaza in absolute ruins reminiscent of Sherman’s work on Atlanta.  Estimates vary and exact numbers are impossible to come by but at this writing nearly 70,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed with around 20,000 of those deaths being children.  

And that is the point where my mind can go no further.  I have yet to hear a justification for the deaths of 20,000 children.  And while you can claim numbers coming from the Hamas run health ministry are inflated, you also cannot see the absolute devastation in Gaza and think that there isn’t the possibility that they are fairly accurate.  Even half that number would be a stain on both those responsible and those complicit. The United Nations reports that over 90% of children in Gaza are suffering from mental health crises and with the potential for hostilities to recommence at any moment it won’t get better.  Neither Judaism or Christianity believe in the sins of the father being visited on the children.

Public Schools

In AP Government we teach that several factors affect how citizens decide on elected officials, but it has become painfully obvious over the last decade plus that it certainly isn’t their stance on public education.  I’ve written about public schools extensively with factual information about teacher pay, spending per pupil, classroom size, and curriculum.  We’ve all watched the General Assembly give half a billion dollars to private schools with little to no oversight as to curriculum or student selection. And Democrats shouldn’t break their arms patting their own backs since they were in charge of the budget for years directly after the courts had decided the Legislature was starving poorer districts of education funding to the point of unconstitutionality.  According to the latest findings published, N.C. is 50th in public school funding but we typically perform in the middle of national testing.  Talk about a return on investment.  

There aren’t enough words to describe how this makes teachers feel but I can give you two.  Betrayed and abandoned. I will give you a third, angry.  And it is somehow getting worse.  Kids are the most difficult to deal with as they ever have been in the history of mankind but most parents think they do no wrong or blame schools for their child’s behavior.  Expectations from the state and local leaders pile on with almost nothing being removed as classroom sizes balloon.  Accusations of indoctrination or outright incompetence are lobbed by groups like Moms for Liberty who throw around terms like “parental rights” and “school choice” and the state legislature has willingly turned their wishes into law.  I truly believe they want what is best for their kids which is the prerogative of parents but not all children which is the role of public education.  

I think I’m right about these issues but if you disagree I would love to hear from you. Just hit me up on the blog because remember I don’t argue on Facebook.  Happy New Year!