Letter: Many sources are needed for ‘truth’

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 | 9:08 a.m.

I have been reading quite a few letters lately that argue back and forth about what the "truth" is about a number of important issues, each person quoting different primary and secondary source materials.

What is so distressing about this is that no one seems to know how to discern fact from opinion or when their opinions are being shaped merely by the opinions of others. Many people, without realizing it, quote as facts the opinions of others, whether it be those of Bill O'Reilly, James Carville, George Will or Paul Krugman.

Folks tend to let the pundits and think tanks do the "hard work" of gathering and analyzing information, and then cherry-pick through the information to validate what they already believe. Meaningful discussion of current events is a hopeless failure simply because no one can even agree on what the facts are. And this is because people just can't find the time to stay informed beyond the time they spend watching TV news.

I propose that very few people out there have a handle on what the "truth" is about very salient things, mainly because they look to fewer than three sources for their information, two of which are likely talk TV or talk radio.

TERESA KROLAK-OWENS