I sent my friend the following letter:

Good morning Mike,

A mere 63 years ago, around the time of the Kennedy-Nixon presidential election, I was a teenager in high school who was becoming increasingly interested in politics.  Feelings could run high, arguments could heat up, voices might be raised, and arguers interrupted each other with the loudest person often talking over the other person, who then retorted: “Let me talk!” Whether among my peers, or on the national stage, the scorched-earth rhetorical warfare which currently characterizes discourse, was not part of the dialogue. 

Facts mattered. Regardless of one’s viewpoint, it was understood that we were arguing about values and about policies. 

In that environment, it is hard to imagine the type of discussion you and I had in which you stated (as though it is an established fact) that Biden has been dismantling Trump’s border wall; unimaginable because a simple statement of fact is either true or false, and it can be checked. Knowing that you are an intelligent person, I think you would agree that, only on the foundation of verifiable fact, can we focus on having a productive discussion.

I tend to avoid pre-digested “fact-checking,” preferring to look at and evaluate sources myself. It is my background in philosophy of science and in journalism, which guide me. In fact-checking your statement, I did not check Alex Jones or similar sources such as Truth Social, Brighteon, or Newsmax. I did not check those because I have a close friend who relies on those as his information sources, and out of respect for him I have spent a lot of time watching a number of videos and reviewing articles he sends me, and consistently found that these “sources” are unsound. They make unsupported assertions, and they outright lie. 

Philosophy of science taught me that the ideal is not to be invested in proving that your theory is correct, but rather to say: “Please show me that I am wrong!”  The idea is that you want to test the soundness of your theory by finding out if it can survive the harshest possible criticism. 

A similar admonition to journalists is: “If your mother says she loves you, check the fact.” 

In checking the fact (has Biden been dismantling Trump’s border wall) I tried very hard to find something on Fox News. Of course I found a lot critical of Biden’s policies and actions regarding border security, but not one word which would support your statement that Biden has been dismantling Trump’s wall. And I checked other news outlets. Included in my search was the website of US Customs and Border Protection.

In fact, I could not even find such a statement by Republican politicians. I found lots of derisive polemics, scornful of the president’s border and immigration policies, but nothing claiming that Biden is dismantling the wall. Although Biden is not continuing to extend the wall, I did learn that his administration is repairing and filling gaps in the wall. 

So in fairness, Mike, I am challenging you to cite a credible source for the statement you made that Biden has been dismantling Trump’s Wall.  

I think it could be worthwhile to have a serious discussion about border security and immigration policy. As voters, and as people, I think we do well to invest time and effort in staying informed. And I believe that a reasonably dispassionate dialogue between us examining our own and each other’s opinions (rather than just repeating unexamined political rhetoric) can be time and effort well spent. 

Your thoughts? 

Regards,

Steve

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Retired from active real estate brokerage, K-Brooks lives in Brattleboro and writes on Blog88.org. Contact Steven K-Brooks at IntoxicatingWriting@gmail.com.