Over the past few days, I saw many people post a fake quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. It was proven false today when compared to what he actually said. One of my favorite responses to that news story is this comment:
"The problem with quotes found on the internet is you have no way of confirming their authenticity." - Abraham Lincoln
Naturally, Lincoln could not have said this because there was no internet, and yet because of the appeal to authority in the name, people will frequently pass around lies. People will believe a lie because they want it to be true or because they think it might actually be true. In that case, it's better to just take credit for it yourself.
Ask my students and my friends and you will discover that I am a frequent critic of the internet as a source of information. Particularly sites like Wikipedia, which is famous in that almost anyone can edit its articles with the ruderal quisquilia that catches the eye and ensnares the mind, attract my disgust. No less deserving of disdain is Google, which often lists results not for relevancy but as part of its corporate strategy, i.e., you may pay to move your search result nearer the top.
Over the past year or so, I have been able to show that many quotes attributed to famous people are things they never said. Many people quote them as conveniences to give their claims credence. In truth, the person may have said something that validates you, but it's easier to just slap some famous person behind your own thoughts and create a celebrity endorsement than to read the Wit and Wisdom of Lincoln or the complete works of Thomas Jefferson and find out what they actually said.
Even more interesting sometimes are things they said that go unquoted. In his article in the May 2010 issue of Imprimis, Charles Kesler points out that liberals latch onto both Chief Justice Roger Taney as well as Abraham Lincoln when it suits them, forgetting that they had distinctly different opinions in the Dred Scott Decision. Fortunately for me, and in a way that is somewhat of a mystery as to how, I have a copy of Lincoln's reaction to Dred Scott, printed in 1902, and so I know better. Obama likes to compare himself to Lincoln, but in terms of his social policy, they couldn't be more different in the context of that legal opinion.
I take credit for what I say and do. Sometimes that gets me in trouble. However, it frees me from circumstances where people cannot document what they did or claim the record will show things they hope are true but didn't actually happen. Just because it's said doesn't make it true. Just think of the conflicting reports in the last few days as to what happened in the bin Laden capture. There was a firefight, a human shield, and a weapon, and now there was the opposite. The trouble is that the liars went to a great deal making up details about things that didn't happen and are very light on the salient points when it comes to detail.
Maybe it would behoove us to follow Obama's example and sleep on it when we hear something that elicits an emotional response. Then again, maybe he didn't say he was going to sleep on it either. Who knows? I'm not sure we'll ever know the truth, but I will keep looking, and I encourage you to do the same.
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