First post

Hey, this is sean. Great to see you've got your blog started. I was real impressed with all the solid knowledge you have and it is so well written I feel like it could be right out of a book. This post seems like a "solid" foundation of it own and it will be exciting to see what comes next.

Love that you started a blog! It's so "now"!

This should be interesting to say the least! 8-)

I liked your point about multiculturalism. I'm going to be mulling that over for awhile because I'm not quite sure whether I agree or not... I haven't decided yet. 8-)

I do find the term "truth" or, more specifically, "the truth" very interesting. It seems like it should be a non-negotiable definition, something not open to interpretation. Yet the exact opposite is true, I think. I recently heard the term "your truth". "The truth" doesn't exist. What exists is "your truth", "my truth", etc. Walt Whitman once wrote that "whatever satisfies the soul is truth." What I believe is truth and what you believe is truth sometimes jive, oftentimes they do not. Sure, there is a truth. But by the time a situation or statement trickles down to us through whatever means, it is distorted, changed, different. We all played the game "telephone" as kids; we all know what the outcome of that game is. To believe that we actually receive "the truth" from anyone is naive, imho. (Keep in mind, I'm not saying that we are always knowingly and consciously deceived. But sometimes things are just naturally changed and miscontrued and evolved while playing "telephone").

Lastly, I don't know if I believe that people generally know right from wrong. That's putting a lot of faith in people - faith that I lose and fight to keep on a daily basis. Heck (your blog wouldn't let me use h-e-l-l!), I have to fight to keep my faith in people on an *hourly* basis these days! Not to mention: what is "right"? What is "wrong"? And who's to say which is which? But that's another can of worms for another day. Gotta go have lunch with Adam and Iz!....

P.S. Just to state my truth, I'm all over the place politically. I tell everyone I'm liberal. Adam says I'm a social liberal but a fiscal conservative (I do have common sense after all, something that the Democratic party severely lacks). But I vote with my heart, which means I vote based on social issues, thus making me a liberal. But I'm pro-death penalty. So you ain't gonna pin me down with a label!!! 8-)

I not sure what is more a sign of the times, the fact that you have a blog, or the fact that I am responding to it. But here goes….

First, in keeping with the theme of the day, I guess my truth would be that I am a free thinker. I consider myself a member of the logical political party. What makes sense to me. Now with all of that being said, let me also offer up this personal truth. I am a cynic. Now that is not to say that I do not have faith in my fellow man, on the contrary, I have all the faith in the world, just not always in the feel good way.

Before I offer up some thoughts about your 5 truths, I feel it necessary to offer up some of my own. I offer these not as alternatives to yours, but rather as modifiers to them. In no particular order:

• Money is the pink elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.
• There is no truth without perspective.
• Intent matters little, and impact matters immensely.

Money is the pink elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. Am I really so cynical that I believe that money drives everything (which, by the way, is what I had originally written above)? No. But the vast majority of life choices, reactions, political moves, national policy, personal fears, goals, and even points on morality have that crazy pink elephant in the room. It might not be centerpiece, but it is there. Why do I want my daughter to get a quality education? Sure, part of it is so she can think freely and more effectively understand the world around her. But if I am “true” to myself, isn’t part of it because I want her to be able to earn a reasonable amount of money and live a nice life?

There is no truth without perspective. For this let me offer up a simple yet powerful example. What is the “truth” about the 9-11 attacks? Is it different around the world? Is it different for a New Yorker than for an Al-Qaeda member?

Intent matters little, and impact matters immensely. One problem about intent, it is only known by you. We all have self-filters that only let us see the world in one way. No matter what we do, we can never turn off the influence that our life has had on us. To make matters worse, there is no way to relay all of the elements that went into an action or comment. All people ever receive from us is the impact, never the intent. Again, an example. How many parents out there (sadly, usually fathers but the numbers are even-ing out) spend 60 to 70 hours a week at the office then come home and “work email” on the weekend? Ask them what their intent is and it is most likely something like, “to provide a good life to my kids.” Ask the kids what the impact is and you will find a different “truth”.

I offer these three points to show that although I do agree in principle to most of your points, I feel that the above elements have tremendous influence on all five. Are we sure the impact of the Constitution was truly the intent? Right to bear arms meaning AK-47s? Is the press trying to be untruthful or just trying to be first and most interesting so you will tune in? People may know the difference between right and wrong, but since our perspectives are different, so too are our definitions.

So I am new to the whole blog thing, but I am guessing I broke some protocol by having a response that is longer than the blog. Keep this up, I always have an opinion to share. Now, I must be off to matters of the utmost importance. Monday Night Football.