by john harrison
My father always used to call it “trombone vision”, I.e., that some things seem to jump out at you, while others, equally visible to the naked eye, literally you do not see. It works both with things that you agree with, and those that you disagree with as well. It is why two people reading the news about a shooting will have a completely different take on the tragedy. The first will focus on the number of people that the shooter killed, and the second will focus on the fact that the attack was stopped, and the shooter was killed, by a legally armed, concealed carrying, bystander, not by the police. They both will have utter certainty when they use the same incident later to support their completely opposite positions on gun control laws.
It is more than just ideological bias at work though. The real problem with this factual blindness is that it prevents any sort of real analysis which might help us solve some very real problems in our society. For example, Democratic politicians, and their followers, are unanimous in their condemnation of former President Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, and therefore also stolen from the American people.
However, at least three things are clear about that election, first, like probably every American election there was some electoral fraud, second, but the fraud was not of sufficient magnitude to effect even in the remotest way the result of the 2020 election, and third, that former President Trump lost the election fair and square.
In their arguments, both sides have taken essentially indefensible positions as this argument unfortunately continues. In defending the clear electoral result, many have gone beyond the statement that it was, if it was not the fairest election in American history certainly it was one of the fairest, to say that there was no fraud at all in this election. Former President Trump’s often repeated statements, both before and after the 2020 election, particularly about Georgia, which was overseen in the main by Republican office holders, are at best ludicrous, but nonetheless are accepted by many as factual; worse, if you even acknowledge the possibility of some fraud, or assert that overall the election was fair and the result is clear, then you are likely to be immediately condemned as a partizan hack by the other side of the debate.
Perhaps another example will help. Recently, many have pointed to Candidate for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s statements in support of “election integrity” as a nod to Former President Trump’s repeated allegations that an alleged lack of such integrity cost him the office of the presidency in 2020. On the other hand though, they do not see any thing wrong, or any similarity, in the claim on the front page of today’s (10/14/2021) Washington Post that the 2020 census already shows signs of a massive “Undercount of Black Americans”.
That is, a government report which has not yet been released and therefore cannot logically be defended as yet, has already been attacked as both wrong, and unfair. Taking only former President Trump’s statements prior to the 20202 election, those that do not see the similarity between Trump’s attacks on an election not yet held and these attacks on a report not yet issued, ignore that the statements of former President Trump before the election attacking the probity of an election not yet held, and that these attacks on a crucial government report not yet released in its final form are essentially the same disingenuous tactic. If you are outraged about one because of its inherent unfairness, then an honest appraisal of facts would inevitably lead you to be outraged about the other as well. Did it?
The phrase “eye of the beholder” became a cliche because of its constant use. On the other hand, it was used constantly because of its inherent truth as a statement about the human condition. Facts become subjective not just because of those we emphasize, but also because of those we choose to ignore and in both we are clearly influenced by the “eye of the beholder”.
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My book, Steel Rain, the Tet Offensive is available on Amazon both as a paperback and on Kindle. It is a Five Star book with lots of reviews, many by others that were there as well. Please give it a look. See; Steel Rain, the Tet Offensive 1968
Recent Reviews of Steel Rain, the Tet Offensive:
“John Harrison does an eloquent job writing what it was like being in the infantry during the Vietnam war. I know, I was in the infantry in Vietnam. There is a statistic which states that only 1 out of 10 who served in Vietnam were in the infantry. All of us have been asked what that was like at one point since our return. It is an impossible question for most of us to answer in part much less in full. John Harrison manages to do this in his book, Steel Rain, the Tet Offensive. So, if you are inclined and wonder what it was like, or you want to tell someone else what you went through, buy this book. Show it to your friend, show it to your family. It tells your story. To, “LT” John Harrison- thank you Sir.Salute.”
“John Harrison’s book, Steel Rain, the Tet Offensive, is a series of short stories, told mostly in the first person, that weaves together the humor and violence that only a talented writer can accomplish. The result is a compelling book that is hard to put down. John’s words flow easily on the pages, making an easy read. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has been there and did that, or anyone wanting to know a personal record of one lucky Lieutenant in Vietnam and the people that made it possible for him to return home.
Dan Hertlein, helicopter mechanic with the 192nd AHC at LZ Betty 1968″
“John is the soldier speaking the truest story of Vietnam. I will confirm his action as I was in a different company same battalion, fighting the same battles.”
JohnEHarrison 