"Truth is not a matter of personal viewpoint"
Vernon Howard
Once again this morning, I took some time out of my day and watched the Sunday morning news shows. It really does not matter which Sunday it is, which channel watched, or even who the players are. The viewpoints are always as different as black and white on most issues. At one time I thought this was nothing more than political differences of opinion. Recently, I have become convinced that people in this country have nothing more than a parallax view.
So what is a parallax view? Quite simply, it is things look different depending on where your view is from. It is something that is used in astronomy all the time to measure distances. Without the different, or parallax viewpoints, true distances could never be determined. Merriam-Webster defines a parallax viewpoint as follows: "The apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object." In other words, the exact same object will look different depending on the viewpoint.
And so we have it with the great divide in our country today. How can something,which to many of us seem so simple, be viewed so completely different? Our national debt for example. Yesterday, I heard two people from Congress say that our debt is being driven by uncontrollable costs in Medicare, Medicade and Social Security. In addition, if we don't revamp all three of these programs, they are not going to be around much longer. Within seconds, two more people from Congress, with a much different viewpoint, said there is nothing wrong with these programs and should not be touched. To me this is a math issue - empirical, not subjective. It should not be possible for two views to be this different on something which should be so absolute, so black and white. And yet, we have a parallax issue.
I know that disagreements on taxes are a different matter. That to me is not a parallax issue, but rather a "whose ox is gored" matter. Those who pay nothing have no interest in paying any more than that. When some people in this country claim that our tax code has spun out of control, become way too complicated and political, and needs vast reform, the "pay nothing" people tune out. In a new system, which would be much less complicated and infinitely more fair, everyone would be paying something. For those getting "soaked" year after year, it is needed - for those paying nothing, it is not. Again, this example depends on tax bracket much more than objective viewpoint.
I think the best example of the parallax viewpoint is our Constitution. A simple, yet complex document, it has guided our country since it was signed. However today, some question not its authenticity, but rather its intent. Is it a stationary, sacrosanct document, or is it "living" that needs to change with the times? Are there tacit or implicit constructs contained within this document, or is it absolute? Was it made to be amended or changed, or not? I think the biggest example of the parallax view as it relates to our Constitution is this: One view is the constitution demands we receive fair outcomes, adjudicated by the state. The other view is it allows us to have equal opportunities with outcomes depending on the skills, acumen and tenacity of the individual.
As long as we continue to have divergent viewpoints with no desire to change our angles of vision or perception, we will continue to be two countries living within the same borders. Our country was founded on "out of many, one". It is healthy to have divergent views on important issues so long as some kind of consensus eventually results. Failure to do so will lead to the failure of the Republic. That is my view, parallax or not.
And so we have it with the great divide in our country today. How can something,which to many of us seem so simple, be viewed so completely different? Our national debt for example. Yesterday, I heard two people from Congress say that our debt is being driven by uncontrollable costs in Medicare, Medicade and Social Security. In addition, if we don't revamp all three of these programs, they are not going to be around much longer. Within seconds, two more people from Congress, with a much different viewpoint, said there is nothing wrong with these programs and should not be touched. To me this is a math issue - empirical, not subjective. It should not be possible for two views to be this different on something which should be so absolute, so black and white. And yet, we have a parallax issue.
I know that disagreements on taxes are a different matter. That to me is not a parallax issue, but rather a "whose ox is gored" matter. Those who pay nothing have no interest in paying any more than that. When some people in this country claim that our tax code has spun out of control, become way too complicated and political, and needs vast reform, the "pay nothing" people tune out. In a new system, which would be much less complicated and infinitely more fair, everyone would be paying something. For those getting "soaked" year after year, it is needed - for those paying nothing, it is not. Again, this example depends on tax bracket much more than objective viewpoint.
I think the best example of the parallax viewpoint is our Constitution. A simple, yet complex document, it has guided our country since it was signed. However today, some question not its authenticity, but rather its intent. Is it a stationary, sacrosanct document, or is it "living" that needs to change with the times? Are there tacit or implicit constructs contained within this document, or is it absolute? Was it made to be amended or changed, or not? I think the biggest example of the parallax view as it relates to our Constitution is this: One view is the constitution demands we receive fair outcomes, adjudicated by the state. The other view is it allows us to have equal opportunities with outcomes depending on the skills, acumen and tenacity of the individual.
As long as we continue to have divergent viewpoints with no desire to change our angles of vision or perception, we will continue to be two countries living within the same borders. Our country was founded on "out of many, one". It is healthy to have divergent views on important issues so long as some kind of consensus eventually results. Failure to do so will lead to the failure of the Republic. That is my view, parallax or not.
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