2400 years ago, Plato contemplated in The Republic who is best to govern society. He talked about truth versus opinion and concluded that opinion was something less than truth. He talked about the type of person that loves opinion and concluded that they understand little about any of the things they hold opinions about. He remarked that they should not be annoyed at him for pointing this out, because they have no right to be annoyed at the truth. In a recent NPR interview, Rush Limbaugh stated that he was not interested in anything other than stating opinions that would maximize his advertising revenue. He was not much concerned if his opinions acted to divide the country; he just wanted to sway elections toward his way of thinking. It seems that our society has fallen victim in recent years to the siren song of firebrands that are just saying whatever they want, not what is really true. The sad thing is when such a large portion of the population is susceptible to these persuasions. Human nature hasn't changed much over the centuries. There will always be those who stir up trouble over half-baked opinions. The thing you have to be worried about is when those people are the ones governing your society.
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