Do you believe? Why? Is it faith? What do you believe in? Who do you believe? Who can you trust?
I know what you’re thinking, this is a religious note. Well, it could be. But I see so much going on in the world today that I feel lost. I don’t know what to believe, especially in politics.
Who do you believe?
What should I believe?
Is the truth out there?
This is crazy, but I was reading the news thinking if I got educated enough I would learn the truth. Here’s the thing, who’s truth? I get so lost and if you choose to follow one person or one group, it’s easy to drink the Kool-aid. Why do we do that?
I think it pays to look at both sides of anything. In an argument, politics, legal matters, and so on. I see so many people that don’t, especially decision makers that find it easier to lump people together. They want to believe if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, and they’re all the same.
There are so many examples in my life, of when I did it and when others did it to me. One example that sticks out is after my divorce my ex-wife came back for more money for child support. Listen, I was already paying a third of my pay, so I really didn’t have much more to give.
Anyway, the judge looked at me like I was a deadbeat dad. I was hurt by her condescending stare. She lost interest half way through and my lawyer did little to persuade her otherwise. I felt like I lost before anyone even looked at the numbers.
Oh, thank God for the number because when the judge finally looked at what I made, what she made, and what I was paying today, her facial expression finally changed. She looked at me with surprise. She then said she needed to review everything again. The numbers didn’t lie and, as a matter of fact, she reduced my payments and removed all the extras I agreed to pay.
Listen, I am not saying this was right or wrong, only fair. She saw me and jumped to a conclusion that was clearly wrong and then had to backtrack and do what was right. You know why? Because the numbers didn’t lie!!
Obviously, my ex was not happy because her plan backfired, although in court she was feeling pretty powerful and judgemental. That is until the judge actually looked at the numbers. However, I would have been happy paying what I was paying and not go through that horrible experience, hiring a lawyer, and all the stress that accompanied it. It was so stressful and probably took years off of my life. The good news is I got my kids as often as I could. I traveled a lot for work, but it all worked out very well.
Facts matter. Yet, we rarely look at any of them, we simply believe people at face value.
I think that is why tech people like to see proof in the numbers, just like finance people. Show me the numbers!! Numbers are better than social proof any day of the week.
Unfortunately, looking at the state of politics today, we have no idea what the truth or even the facts are. They’re so distorted. It’s hard to get to the truth when all the people say they’re telling the truth even though they contradict each other.
Let’s face it, too many people are sheep and just follow a leader, even though that leader has a horrible record.
Do I have advice? Well, you have to do what is best for you. What really matters to you? Some people look at the abortion issue and that’s all that matters. Some people look at taxes, social security, retirement, and the stock market. Maybe even traffic conditions or foreign relations.
So when you decide who to vote for, drill down to see what they believe. Trust me, they will say whatever they have to for a winning ticket.
These consultants they hire look at the hot topic of the week then tell the politicians to swing the way the public wants them too even though politicians could care less. Remember, they want to get re-elected. They’re probably not there for you as much as you wish they were. Motivations matter. Why are they running?
Do what feels right to you. Maybe it’s your faith guiding you, and that’s OK. We need faith. Just make sure you’re believing it for the right reasons.
After all, we all hate feeling stupid. I feel like that more often these days. I have to admit I was wrong about so many things.