Facts, values, philosophy, politics, and logic

Facts are what science seeks to find, measure, and describe in precise terms. Values are ideas about truth, beauty, and good held as opinions by persons. Persons are legally equal in a democracy, but actually not at all equal in every way including the quality of their ideas. Persons of quality have ideas, and persons of no quality also have ideas. We are not allowed to say that these ideas about values are “better’ than those ideas about values. But we do anyway. If you are a person of quality you may tend to prefer ideas by other persons of quality. If you are riff raff street urchin scallawag, you may applaud ideas presented by persons much like yourself. Some values are more consistent with a sustainable decent society than others. They are better values, but in a democracy I am not allowed to say that anybody’s opinions about value are any better than anybody else’s. Politics is a brutal intruder into reason when it comes to beauty, truth and goodness, but we applaud what it tells us about “Equal Justice Under Law”. People need to have the same civil rights, but they need not have the same right to be listened to by serious persons. Now comes you to tell me I am a snob, something that I proclaimed 30 years ago and have never denied. Snob, yes I know. It’s true. Denying it would be pointless, and in vain. So, block me. Why would you read the ramblings of a snob? Are you a snob? If you are keep it quiet. Do as I say, not as I do. One aspires to rational conduct. But getting that done is not so easy. I tell what I know. For better or worse. Come what may.