Part One Facts Versus Opinion Cognitive

Facts versus Opinion And Cognitive Dissonance Part One

Investing the time and effort to fully understand a subject more fully takes time and sacrifice on our part. Leaving history and facts in context with an open and objective mind are just a few of the prerequisites of gaining a simple working knowledge of whatever it is we are studying.

Our bumper sticker society loves to try and educate themselves on various subjects with one-liners. This simplistic approach replaces what it takes to contextually gain even a small grasp on any subject.If we can't read it in 10 seconds on our "smart phones" we just scroll over the long paragraphs. We try to discredit the facts before us with our one line philosophy. Denying the facts and attempting to de-legitimize them becomes a type of cognitive dissonance. When the facts make us uncomfortable or clash with our preconceived bumper sticker beliefs we scramble for more bumper sticker information or others who think like us to refute the facts in front of our lying eyes.We often hang on to our own opinions no matter what the facts left in context tells us.

At other times confronted with facts we try to delegitimize them or the source in some way. We refuse to acknowledge the truths we find that conflict with those one-line bumper stickers our viewpoint can at times be built upon. Quoting our one line opinion while we are denying the very demonstration of proof and information on the paper trail of facts or the time line of evidence right before our very eyes.We use a single example plucked from our world of one-line bumper stickers to defy and refute the mountain of evidence standing in front of us.Again I repeat being honest and objective about this process is the first step in educating ourselves on any subject.It is in that spirit I share this following information.

Fire Truck and Confederate Flag

I came across this story several weeks ago in the Star Tribune. The article is about the picture below concerning the Confederate Flag being flown on a fire truck during a 4th of July celebration.While I chuckle at the ignorance displayed by the person, Mr. Brian Nielsen, who placed the flag on the truck it was his view of that flag I found even more flabbergasting.

In Mr. Nielsen's response when questioned about his motive in flying the Confederate flag he reveals a common flaw we often see in those who try to use their twisted logic in defending or stating their opinion on various subject.

I also found a strange dichotomy when seeing the two flags together on fire truck during the 4th of July parade.How could anyone conflate these symbols of cloth as somehow representing the same thing? Displaying the two flags in this way was as disgusting as I found Mr. Nielsens response on the subject of the Confederate flag on the fire truck.

Mr. Nielsen's response is laughable yet sad.In his blind ignorance and insensitivity Mr. Nielsen spoke about "PC" or political correctness concerning the flag and slavery. He states this confidently as if there was an ounce of truth or fact filled evidence in his warped opinion and response about the flag.

History is very plain that the Confederate states and flag had everything to do with the issue of slavery, making the designation of skin color a proof of inequality. History speaks loudly about this flag and the denying of equal rights to American citizens. However in one giant leap Mr. Nielson throws all the facts to one side and replaces it with his opinion as he tells the reporter, It had nothing to do with slavery.

Here is Mr. Nielson's response to flying the flag in the parade on the fire truck.My view is that PC is going too far taking things out of history, Nielsen said. It has nothing to do with slavery. I dont see color, black or white. Were all equal.

Cognitive Dissonance

Mr. Nielson's simplistic view of the Confederate flag is a glaring example of the application of cognitive dissonance. To relieve any discomfort that the flag is connected to slavery or the denial of civil rights in any way he just says it isnt.Somehow he thinks just stating something and believing it doesnt exist makes it so.

This is part of the problem in viewing what the symbol the Confederate flag represents in our country's history. Pretending or not knowing this history of that flag does not change the reality of what the flag is and has been connected to. Even more disturbing is the lack of knowing even the basics about the events surrounding that same flag Nielson claims, has nothing to do with slavery.

Let me offer just a tiny bit of history saturated with contextual evidence and facts for Mr. Nielsen and anyone else who think this flag has nothing to do with slavery.I do this since Mr. Nielsen so blatantly thinks something is being "taken out of history" for the sake of political correctness.

What is comforting for me is I dont have to debate Mr. Nielsens claims or use my own personal opinions to argue with his position.I dont have to throw a bunch of one-line bumper stickers at him or anyone else who holds this opinion about the Confederate flag.Mr. Nielsen or anyone else that believes that the flag has nothing to do with slavery, white supremacy or the denial of civil rights get to debate with some other folks. Their argument isnt with me but with the very Confederate leaders whose words and ideology are left for all of us to read and learn from. There is no doubt what the creators of these flags choose the flag to symbolize. They told us in their own words.We can pretend those words from the Confederate leaders dont exist by using cognitive dissonance.We can create our own illusion about the flag but this does not erase the historical facts and words of those people who created the Confederate government, flag, and Confederate constitution after seceding from the United States of America.

Let me emphasize no one is advocating the North was not racist nor do they have an unblemished record on civil rights. I am not in favor of erasing or banning the Confederate flag from the history of America. How absurd. Its history is well established and long. It should be studied in depth on why and how the Confederacy and the Confederate flag came to be. It does belong in a museum and our history books where it can be seen in its full historical context and display. Seeing the Confederate flag in full historical context would make any liberty and justice believer in Americas constitution and democracy blush with anger and shame whenever this flag was being displayed as a banner of freedom. It is an insult to our intelligence and history that somehow they are pretending these two flags support the same values we hold dear for all citizens in our democracy.

For those who cannot for a moment partake in a little empathy for the tens of millions of Americans that find offense in this flag and its history because of what it implied and was connected toopen your mind to the facts from our own history and the words of the very people who designed and fought under that banner.

Denying this flag is not directly connected to slavery, white supremacy, Jim Crow, segregation, terror, hate and the denial of civil rights to fellow Americans is offensive to say the least.

The long history and the events surrounding this flag should be studied always because it is a very different history than the one Mr. Nielsen believes is true and embarrassingly uttered his beliefs openly in the newspaper article below after displaying the flag in a parade.

http://www.startribune.com/aside-stars-and-stripes-firetruck-flies-confederate-flag-in-albert-lea-holiday-parade/311675081/

I stress again just because someone claims they dont see a symbol in the way it has been used in the past does not nullify those past connections of the symbol to those negative or evil actions.

Anyone not Jewish or from Germany may not understand why the swastika is so offensive but it does not change the history and legacy of Hitler, the swastika, the Holocaust survivors and WWII.

For those who think just stating, like Mr. Nielsen does, that this flag has nothing to do with slavery I offer a very light history lesson which is connected to another picture of the same Confederate flag below.

I am not a historian or claim to be one.Hopefully folks will take the time to read my simple effort in sharing these facts.Then they don't have to embarrass themselves on Facebook or in parades by making such asinine statements similar too what Mr. Brian Nielsen has made concerning the Confederate flag, slavery, segregation and the denial of basic civil rights to our fellow citizens.

Dylan Roof and Self-Radicalization

Dylan Roof is shown below with his Confederate flag and gun.He is just one more example of these self-radicalized attackers drunk on their ideology and blinded by their warped sense of reality. As they become more radical in their beliefs it can morph into violent action as they live out their radicalized fantasies.

No matter if it is Timothy McVeigh, Glenn Miller, Dylan Roof or some fanatical religious zealot, Muslim or Christian, they all become radicalized in similar ways. They shut off any logic and common sense and fill their minds with the poison of their cause.These guys will continue to pop up in our society from various groups as they become radicalized by their ideology. They are far more similar than they can imagine.

Roof plainly displays the symbols of his ideology in many pictures taken with them.He wrote about his ideology rather extensively on the Internet. The symbols, ideology and doctrines no matter how different with individual groups are always tied to the same process of radicalization.Individuals or groups step over a line in the consumption of these ideas causing them to act on them in violent ways.

Justifying Hate Approximately a little over a year ago before the latest hate-filled rampage and ignorance of Dylan Roof holding the Confederate flag in the picture above there was another violent actor on the stage of racial hatred who appeared, Glenn Miller.

Glenn Miller the former Green Beret who served two tours in Vietnam was one of the more visible patriots of that era who could claim he served in the military.I would remind anyone reading there were plenty of Confederate flags raised in the military on the deaths of Martin Luther King and President John Kennedy.Being in the military does not cure one of the baggage ingrained in the psyche or the ability to become radicalized when the lens of logic and common sense are removed. The service of Glenn Miller or Timothy McVeigh produced no miracle in stopping them from becoming radicalized killers.

Just as various voices tried to turn this latest hate crime of Dylan Roof into an "attack on Christianity" a year ago these same voices were trying to deflect Millers actions. They tried to turn the vicious racist attack on a Jewish Center by Glenn Miller as resulting from the influence of "liberal" journalist Max Blumenthal trying to deflect the obvious reason for the shootings.

Confirmation Bias

Events like this as sad as they are present an opportunity to let history and the facts speak. The evidence will plainly present to us contextually and historically facts that speak loudly from the vaults of days gone by.

When we let objectivity over rule the confirmation bias we use to cherry pick small bits of information to confirm our opinions or what we want to believe, a much clearer perspective is created when all facts are seen in context.A perspective based on these facts left in context presents a much broader view and balanced perspective than the narrow viewpoint of a lens constantly filtering out all the facts with confirmation bias. Glenn Miller was the hate filled racist, lunatic who shot and killed several people at a Jewish Center in May of 2014.

Miller methodically planned his attack for weeks before picking the Jewish Center and did a walk through unarmed to see how the landscape lay. He had been trained well and was now using his training again to take action about what he believed. His ideology was driving him to act as he had been doing since he left the military and had followed his beliefs and ideology.

While various voices in the media tried to blame this violent act of Miller as a response to a so-called "liberal" Jewish journalist the history and past of Glenn Miller spoke much louder than their disinformation.

However if you don't know that history of Glenn Miller then you are willing to swallow what these voices behind their TV cameras and microphones want you to believe. Using their confirmation bias we will fail to look at the broader picture and mountains of facts scattered on the landscape and timeline of Glenn Millers life and journey to that Jewish Center on that sad day.A brief timeline shatters the ingenuous claims these voices made about Miller being somehow influenced by the Jewish journalist on the rocks of truth and history.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article3955528.html

Glenn Frazier Miller

Long before his senseless killings in Kansas Glenn Miller was associated with hate, violence and death for decades.His book, marches and activities are documented in many places.The symbols of his ideology are always present wherever he went.

Decades before Glenn Miller was this 73-year-old man belowbeing arrested for shooting innocent people at a Jewish Center his path was strewn with hate, murder and ignorance.This was not a random act of violence and it didnt happen in a vacuum.

Miller had founded his North Carolina chapter of the KKK in 1980.

By 1985 he changed the name of his group to "The White Patriots Party" and marched in Raleigh, North Carolina. His symbols always displayed surround him.

His efforts to recruit and bully were continual. His record was full of hate filled rhetoric, violence and death.

A year later in 1986 Miller was marching in Raleigh, North Carolina again to abolish the MLK holiday.Marching with their minds were full of their conspiracy theories and disinformation about the world and people around them. Facts twisted and distorted by their bias to fit into their jigsaw puzzle and perception of life.

This former Green Beret did all of this in the name of "Southern Heritage," white supremacy and under the banner of the Confederate flag.We have voices saying these groups with their ideology of white supremacy; hate and segregation have hijacked the Confederate flag.

Once again we have cognitive dissonance used by some to make their mind believe something that is not based in fact.Like Mr. Nielsen, just stating something and wanting to believe it is so doesnt make it true factually. No one hijacked what that flag stood for.

Ideology

This set of beliefs held by Dylan Roof and Glenn Miller is an ideology. It is an ideology born out of and based on white supremacy, slavery, Jim Crow and the need to control and dominate a group of people seen as inferior because of skin color.It comes right out of the slavery era with all its propaganda to justify slavery.This ideology has various banners or symbols it uses to stand under as most groups do. One of those symbols used is a constant and it is the Confederate flag.Lets move forward in our limited time and efforts to let the facts left in context speak for their self.Mr. Nielsen I hope you can open your mind and take notes! Remaining blind to your own cognitive dissonance will only leave you ignorant to the history you claim didnt happen.

William T. Thompson versus "Southern Heritage"

This brings me to the picture of the flag below as people try to come to grips with a picture of another racist lunatic waving a Confederate flag or an ignorant fireman stating this flag had nothing to do with slavery or the subjugation of a group of American citizens.While the creator of the flag below is long gone his words are recorded in the annals of history on what his design for this flag stood for and symbolized.Again these are the designer of the flags words. If you want to argue and debate then here is one of the guys you need to debate with the creator of the flag. If you cant accept the basic fact the designer of the flag left us in his statements then one is using cognitive dissonance to delegitimize what the designer of the flag states plainly as if this history doesnt exist.We have historical records about William T. Thompson who created one of the original flags and what the flag symbolized.His words are below taken from a book written about the history of various flags.I also offer a link to clips from three newspaper articles from that period as this flag evolved.

http://asagordon.byethost10.com/XNEOCONFEDS/WHITE%20MAN'S%20FLAG.html#wmf3

The unique thing about William T. Thompson was he just wasnt your average Joe back in the 1863. Thompson was the co-founder of the Savannah Morning News.Yes his words are left to us right from his own newspaper. Thompsons own printed words directly from his mind and ideology to print in his newspaper.

I present to you Mr. William T. Thompson of Savannah, Georgia offering his words in describing the battle flag.

Read again the yellow highlighed words.These are the words of Mr. William Thompson creator of this specific flag above one of several flags used by the Confederacy.

https://books.google.com/books?id=R3MUAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22maintain%20the%20Heaven-ordained%20supremacy%20of%20the%20white%20man%20over%20the%20inferior%20or%20colored%20race%22&pg=PA526#v=onepage&q=%22maintain%20the%20Heaven-ordained%20supremacy%20of%20the%20white%20man%20over%20the%20inferior%20or%20colored%20race%22&f=falseSo what does the creator of the flag, Mr. Thompson, claim this flag was a symbol of? Hmmm? Well, well imagine that.... another voice telling us the flag and the people fighting under this flag did so because of the "heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man" in their efforts to justify slavery and the war.

Here is link to your choice of three different newspaper accounts of the same design. They all basically refer to the same thing "white supremacy" validated by heaven and the Bible to maintain and expand the institution of slavery.

http://asagordon.byethost10.com/XNEOCONFEDS/WHITE%20MAN'S%20FLAG.html

What does the creator of the stainless banner of the Confederacy say about the flag he created? What does the co-founder of the Savannah Morning News say about why they are fighting the war?It is left for everyone to read right there in his own newspaper. Thompson is not some fringe guy who hijacked a symbol but a pillar in the community of one of the Souths most prominent cities in 1863.

What were some of his words again Mr. Nielsen?Again these are the words of Mr. Thompson telling us why they were fighting the Civil War and what the flag he created represents.Lets go over his words one more time.

As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause.

Such a flagwould soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as the white mans flag .

As a national emblem, it is significant of our higher cause, the cause of a superior race, and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism.

Another merit in the new flag is, that it bears no resemblance to the now infamous banner of the Yankee vandals.

Heaven-ordained White Supremacy

Mr. Nielsen flies a flag on the back of his fire truck that rose up in rebellion because of an election outcome they didnt like. They seceded from Union and US flag. They created their own constitution validating slavery, created their own flag based on "white supremacy" and fought a war to destroy the United States of America while hoping to expand slavery. Hmmm?It couldnt be any plainer but of course people dont want to be confused by the facts. They just cant believe their lying eyes. So they use confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance to cherry pick various facts and surround themselves with people who believe what they believe all while delegitimizing the mountain of evidence in front of them. The co-founder of that newspaper tells us plainly why the war and what the flag symbolized.

Southern Secession

Mr. Thompsons belief in white supremacy and his symbol of the flag is no surprise to anyone who has read about the secession of Confederate states after Lincoln's election. The flag above created by Mr. Thompson is one of the battle flags of the Confederacy that sought to destroy the United States and to preserve and advance slavery.The reason for secession of these states from the Union was stated plainly in their individual secession statements.Were there a bunch of young soldiers who couldn't read or write who fought for the South not knowing what the leaders fully stood for? No doubt, but the political class and planter elite, often the same people, knew from the very start why they gathered those young soldiers under these various flags of the Confederacy. It was to protect slavery.

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