“My minds made up (so) don’t confuse me with the facts,” is a play on words I’ve used for years when debating a topic on which my position wasn’t the strongest.
Believing there is an epidemic of “My minds made up (so) don’t confuse me with the facts,” I decided to seek the origin of that phrase.
I choose to share the most ironic source I found. It attributes the “my minds made up…” play on words to a pro-Richard Nixon congressman from Indiana amidst the Watergate scandal in the seventies that led to the President’s resignation and later that representative being voted out of office.
Daniel Patrick Moynihan also said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
Moynihan continued – “People who want to have their own facts independent of the truth fall victim to confirmation bias.
George Costanza from Seinfeld fame accurately explained confirmation bias when he suggested “it’s not a lie if you believe it.”
I’m sure we all agree locating truth in news today is very difficult. MSNBC, FOX, and CNN plus a host of lesser-known outlets make finding truthful news allusive. At our house we watch a little from each source hoping by comparison we can strain out the truth.
Lastly, the January 6th Hearings offer a challenge as well. If you are watching them you have to be shocked at some of the findings. On the other hand, ignoring the hearings puts you squarely in the “My minds made up (so) don’t confuse me with the facts,” group.
IF our democracy IS in the balance we…….
well, I guess that really is: Something to think about?
I’m Steve Sauder
