"If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear as it is," (William Blake)

.....Perception is everything.  I have one good friend and colleague with conservative perceptions and one good friend and colleague whose perceptions are to the left--or perhaps I should say that they perceive our world from pole to pole, and thus cannot see each other.  Oh, I don't mean that I have only two friends; I do have others who also interpret events culled from different influences in their lives.  Now, my perceptions have been developed over a longer period of time from anyone I know, and from being exposed to wartime horrors which my friends  thankfully have no first hand knowledge of, who have grown up in different parts of this country, who have been influenced by their parents, grandparents, and friends other than mine, and no doubt also from teachers in high school and college.  Our perceptions of everything are colored by the lives we have led.  It doesn't take a great intellect to arrive at that truth.

.....For example, in a previous blog's comment, a good friend refers rather cavalierly to President Franklin Roosevelt as "Rosenfeld".  This kind of saddens me; it is obvious that he doesn't think much of Roosevelt for whatever reasons. My perception differs; Roosevelt's administration was responsible for passage of the G.I. Bill which altered my life to a great extent--and not his.  Because WWII did a number on my head, Public Law 16 allowed me to go to college tuition free, with books paid for, and with a stipend of $100 a month.  But the fact is that we do not think the less of each other because of differing views.  I will, however, always respect President Roosevelt.  And I will refrain from calling Bush, President Botch.

.....Our views are firmly entrenched because we tend to see and recall only evidence that supports our beliefs.  The tendency to adopt this confirmation bias is a failure of rational thought. Reason is supposed to be the highest achievement of the human mind, and the route to knowledge and wise decisions. But as psychologists have documented, humans are really, really bad at reasoning.  We follow our emotions and perceptions from voting to ethics; and argument, after all, is less about seeking truth than about overcoming opposing views.  Let it be known that my perception of whatever there is to percept is the correct one, and I can't understand why everyone can't see that.