The Art of Argument

The true reason I love to argue is to learn. I learn how solid my point of view is when it is challenged in an argument. That is why I find it frustrating to argue with the left and liberals. Not traditional liberals but the new breed that is completely emotion driven and void of depth of argument.

I have changed my mind on a number of positions over the years through the process of argument. I believe it is not a sign of weakness to change your point of view if the circumstances change or the facts you were relying on are found to be untrue or misrepresented. In today’s fast moving information highway it is easy to make an assumption on current information and as the story unfolds the facts you were relying on to hold that opinion change, and so your position may change. But too many people don’t analyze the data long enough to make the change and often remain true to the initial false facts because it fits better with their underlying ideology.

There are a number of issues currently being manipulated to create political postures for the democrats because the fact is the polls are not looking very promising for democrats this fall. They are panicking and therefore are doing their best to gin up their base voters, the extreme left. The “war on women”, “global warming, cooling, climate change, climate disruption, etc…” whatever label they are currently using. The “Tea Party” is racist. The Republicans are obstructionists. Benghazi, the IRS, the VA, Executive abuse of the constitution, and the AG are all just “phony scandals” designed by republicans because they hate the president simply because he is black.

I will take just one of these scandals, Benghazi, to make the point of the importance of argument. The left and democrats say we have been investigating this for 20 months and nothing has been found. First, just because it has been going on for 20 months doesn’t mean a thing. If the administration is not cooperating and providing the documents and information needed to determine the facts, it could be ten years running and that means nothing. The four dead American’s families deserve answers to questions like: could they have been saved if the military responded immediately? Why was our consulate still open when every other western consulate closed due to the danger, warnings, and recent attacks on the consulate? Where and what were Secretary Clinton, and the President doing during this attack? No answers have been given except by Secretary Clinton who said “What difference does it make?” It makes a difference if the administration was derelict in its duty. It is also important to know how the decision process went down so we can learn from it.

I will argue that this president and administration is guilty of putting politics of a 2012 election over the safety and lives of Americans in harm’s way. If you want to have an argument with facts I am willing to change my mind if the facts we know now change. Let’s get the facts so we can argue what to do next. The art of argument is based on the foundation of facts and then determining what position to take based on those facts. Sometimes people can come to different conclusions based on the same facts but first we need the facts. Then people can determine who holds the most honest position in the arguments…  

A Parent’s Nightmare in Benghazi

Imagine you are the parent or family member of one of the Americans killed in the 9/11/2012 terrorist attack at our consulate in Benghazi? If you only watch the network news programs, NBC, CBS, or ABC, you probably have little idea of what I’m talking about. Let me fill you in.

Four Americans were attacked on 9/11/2012 by terrorists at our consulate in Benghazi. First thing to understand is the consulate is American soil. The Americans that are in that compound should be as safe as any place in the US. But we now know that threats against our citizens were increasing and their requests for additional security denied. The British Embassy pulled out all of their citizens days prior due to the increased threats of violence.

The terrorists showed up on 9/11 heavily armed to kill Americans. Drones flying above the compound were monitoring and sending video real time to authorities including the CIA, DOD, and the White House. The Americans under threat were sending messages about the situation to dozens of people as well as posting messages on social media. To no avail. Until a couple of brave men decided to disobey orders to stand down and decided to go help the Americans under attack. They were successful in saving approximately 16 Americans and holding off the terrorists for 7 hours. But no help arrived even though the situation was unfolding right in front of the people responsible for protecting them including the President and Secretary of State. Ultimately the terrorists succeeded in killing 4 Americans because their requests for help were denied by the president’s administration.

One of the slain Americans is former Navy Seal Tyrone Woods. His father Chris Woods has been out trying to get answers to why his son and other heroes did not get back-up during the terrorist attack. As a parent I can only imagine the pain and frustration he feels about his son’s death. But to add insult to injury, the media, except for FOX are not asking any questions about how this happened? So the father has made it his mission to get to the bottom of this failure.

The father Chris Woods is up against a lot of media noise like the recent storm, and a media that is protecting this president’s election chances instead of investigating the Benghazi failure. They seem to have no interest in getting to the truth about this huge failure of the Commander in Chief to protect Americans abroad, and giving the order to send help to those patriots. I have no doubt he will succeed eventually. The truth always finds the light of day.

But in the meantime my heart aches for the families of these heroes who were betrayed by this president and his administration. I am also disappointed the military went along with this failure. In the end this father and these families will get the answers, and the country will hold the people responsible no matter what the election outcome is on November 6^th. It is devastating the level of corruption we have in the media. A media whose responsibility it is to hold government accountable.