Friday August 15, 2003 at 5:19 PM
Facts Are Such Stubborn Things
Appearing in Politics
As noted here earlier, the integrity of fact-based decision making by the Executive Branch of our government, has become increasingly suspicious [ see also ]. Whether in the realm of environmental policies, foreign policy, or economic policy, the Bush administration has a demonstrable record of making decisions and pursuing agendas that are unsupported by the best available evidence.
In recent weeks this pattern has been increasingly noted by the media, the Democratic presidential candidates, former Vice-President Al Gore, and Democratic Representative Henry Waxman.
In his August 7th speech to MoveOn.org, Gore offered the following:
“Earlier, I mentioned the feeling many have that something basic has gone wrong. Whatever it is, I think it has a lot to do with the way we seek the truth and try in good faith to use facts as the basis for debates about our future — allowing for the unavoidable tendency we all have to get swept up in our enthusiasms.
That last point is worth highlighting. Robust debate in a democracy will almost always involve occasional rhetorical excesses and leaps of faith, and we’re all used to that. I’ve even been guilty of it myself on occasion. But there is a big difference between that and a systematic effort to manipulate facts in service to a totalistic ideology that is felt to be more important than the mandates of basic honesty.
Unfortunately, I think it is no longer possible to avoid the conclusion that what the country is dealing with in the Bush Presidency is the latter. That is really the nub of the problem — the common source for most of the false impressions that have been frustrating the normal and healthy workings of our democracy.
Americans have always believed that we the people have a right to know the truth and that the truth will set us free. The very idea of self-government depends upon honest and open debate as the preferred method for pursuing the truth — and a shared respect for the Rule of Reason as the best way to establish the truth.
The Bush Administration routinely shows disrespect for that whole basic process, and I think it’s partly because they feel as if they already know the truth and aren’t very curious to learn about any facts that might contradict it.”
The rest of the speech is also well worth reading.
