Scott's Philosophy Notebook

I have a good friend who can see dead people. She can also see when people are about to die. And the worst part of it is she can do nothing about it. It pained me to hear of her plight. I honestly wanted to help. And so I write this, in the hopes that she, and others like her, will find their pain a little easier to deal with.

I enjoy entertaining other thoughts and opinions, no matter how radical they may be. The same principles of this country that protect the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also protect the propaganda written and distributed by the Ku Klux Klan. We are living in a land where we are free to make up our own minds about things, and to find our own answers. I find myself having a hard time making up my own mind. I was baptized by a spiritualistic faith healer, and have shared a home with a bisexual man for over a year.

With all these different opinions flying around, what am I to do? I am very easily influenced. I studied Christianity until I was certain that it was all truth. And then I started studying Buddhism, until I started to discover it was true. I have extensively studied conspiracy "theory," until I truly understood the connections that the experts pointed out. There are so many different ideas out there, and they all seem true. I know in my gut instinct that they are right. Every idea I consider, I know deep down inside. This is very frightening, and I’m sure there are others out there just as sensitive as I am (if not more).

So I realized I needed a method to siphon out the fiction from the facts. I needed a way for me, without anybody's help, to really find out just what the heck was going on. And after some trial and error, here’s what I came up with:

1. Get all the facts, even the conflicting and ridiculous ones. Get all the opinions you can. Dig deep, whatever it is. Don’t trust anyone as an authority. Don’t believe everything you read. I am a professional journalist, and I promise you, the media is biased. It’s one of the hallmarks of a good story. It’s called an angle, and your story will suffer without it. So do your own research. Observe. Listen. Use all your senses; sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, whenever applicable.
2. Consider all the possibilities. All of them, no matter how ridiculous or obvious they may be. It was once obvious that the world was flat. It was once obvious that the sun revolved around the Earth. It was once thought ridiculous that we could break the sound "barrier." Take nothing for granted, or you will make mistakes.
3. Test the possibilities, every way you can. Don’t be biased. I was biased against homosexuals until I found how happy and productive one was because he was encouraged for his sexuality. Then, I was biased against those who oppress homosexuals, because I thought it was their fault that certain homosexuals were unhappy or disruptive. Who is right in this situation? How do you know? Test these possibilities, every way you can. Compare your findings with other things you know. Try to isolate certain events. I used to see the future in my dreams. So I started writing them down as soon as I had them, rather than comparing them after the "future" unfolded itself. Do you see dead people? Is it only at night? Only during the day? Only through windows or in mirrors? Do they talk to you? What do they say? In what language? Can you touch them? What do they feel like? Do they act like anybody you know, or once knew? Remember, don’t be biased. Just collect the facts, and compare them later.
4. After comparing all these possibilities, which one coincides with the facts you started with? Don’t consider what seems likely to be true, or what feels right, deep down inside. You don’t need feelings or seemings anymore. You have the facts right in front of you now. It’s all right there, and you found out the answer all by yourself. You didn’t need any authority on the matter. You are now an "authority" yourself.

I have tried swaying peoples’ opinions about one matter or another. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. I have since given up trying to persuade people. But the least I can do, is help them find the answers they seek. My opinion is no better or worse than theirs, and if they were to just follow my "say so," they would be trusting my authority. And authority, as we all know by now, is a dangerous thing. (Remember what I said about the media?)

I have since found a few answers regarding the flat earth, and the earth going around the sun, and the sound "barrier," and precognitive dreams, and faeries and goblins, and homosexuals and those that oppress them. I will not share my answers with you. I do, however, hope you seek the answers yourself some day.