With the 2018 mid-term election approaching, we should focus our attention on “just the facts.”

Dragnet, the famous cop sitcom, featured Sergeant Joe Friday, who frequently stated when addressing a loquacious witness:  “All we want are the the facts, Ma’am.”  Sgt. Friday recoiled against emotional comments or opinions, seeking to obtain facts only.  A difficult task then, as now, evidenced by the spin tactics of some current politicians and journalists.   

In recent times, with the common useage of the phrase “fake news,” we hear the oft-cited quote of Senator Patrick Moynihan (1927—2003):  

— “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.”

When opinion and facts overlap, distortion arises.  All of us should take prudent steps to “get the facts” before passing on a story or event to others.  Mark Twain (1835—1910) said it best:

—“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.”

Though Mark Twain poked fun at writers, journalists, lawyers, and perhaps some scientists, all who deal with facts, which sometimes become problematic to support the desired result.  For one dealing with inconvenient facts, at least two principles should prevail:  

(1) do not omit important or unfavorable facts; and 

(2) present truthful facts in a supportive manner; i.e., the most favorable light, known in modern day parlance as “spin.”  

Facts may be troublesome things when one has a platform to support, and certain inconvenient facts contradict it.   At such times some unscrupulous advocates fall back on another familiar expression:

— “The ends justifies the means.” 

It is frequently attributed to Niccolo Machiavelli (1469—1527,) though not supported by research.  This ethically challenged approach emanates from the ancient doctrine of Consequentialism, which holds that “the consequences of one’s conduct are the 

ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.”  (wikipedia.org)  Under Consequentialism, concealing relevant facts, lying under oath, manufacturing untrue facts, become noble when the proponent obtains the desired result.

We observe politicians, and their surrogates, using Consequentialism in their “talking points,” which most often present a one sided view, sometimes by manufacturing or distorting “facts”  to mislead the public into supporting their current cause.  Unfortunately, the public frequently accepts those distorted “facts” at face value without confirming them on their own.  Sergeant Friday would not be amused.