Are there Right and Wrong Decisions?

Often we tend to believe most things we are told...in the media, by people we respect, by our parents, by our teachers or our religious leaders! Why? Because we trust these sources.

I remember reading somewhere that an opinion is just another step to the next opinion. That is why I would not be a good politician. I want to be free to change my mind!

There are lots of examples in history that don't wrap up as tidily as they once did! Were the Medieval Knights of the Middle Ages a bunch of terrorist warriors wearing body armour and riding powerful horses into battle, or were they defenders of Western civilization against an ongoing Islamic expansion. Were they fighting the Muslims to preserve their values and customs, or simply corralling plunder and enriching themselves? A little of both perhaps?  And here we are today dealing with the same conundrum - except now the various cultures have hi-tech weapons. Remember, George Bush did use the word 'crusade' in one of his speeches and Obama called his acts the 'new crusade'.

Are the Mi'kmaq in New Brunswick doing the right thing by protesting the current search for gas and oil in their traditional hunting grounds and property? Did not the Friendship Treaties of 1760 and 1761 seal their rights to the land and its resources! The Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 and a Supreme Court decision in 1999 also defended those treaty rights. So why are they not being treated accordingly? Why confrontation and not negotiations as required by law?

Does Neil Young have a valid point to make, even if he may exaggerate a little bit? Do the Canadian government and the oil companies really have this problem under control?  A little dialogue and negotiation would be an honest change.

And what about our personal religious beliefs? Beliefs that we have held since childhood. Do we ever challenge them?

I have to admit, it is important to know what we are talking about! Like most, I probably look for resources that will defend my current position or belief. Often that is easier than having to challenge ideas, beliefs and opinions I have harboured most of my life! Often we get our opinions brewed into our feeling, beliefs, what others have said, or what we learned as a child from our parents.

When a politician is interviewed it is often very obvious that he or she is parroting the party line and may never have questioned the facts behind their position.  People identify with a particular party for example and simply parrot what could be  misinformation. "My parents were Liberals, therefore I am a Liberal!"  That's O.K provided the reason now is that I have thought it through for myself and not just run with my parents reasoning. After all, the times do change! Why is it so difficult to say, I don't understand or given the facts available, I now think differently. Hey, I can change my mind!

There is an old philosophy quote that asks: Quid est veritas? What is truth anyway? Not just what is the truth about the Crusades, the Oil Sands or my fixed ideas, but what is truth itself? What makes something true?

In the end does it really matter what is true? Probably to many it doesn't, they are settled and fixed in their ways and nothing is going to change them. But what happens to our democracy if the majority act in this manner? Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote (Crabbed Age and Youth) "Age may have one side, but assuredly Youth has the other. There is nothing more certain than that both are right, except perhaps that both are wrong." Don't be afraid to change your opinion. The old one is probably outdated anyway!

And that's Dick's View of the World this Week