A Correction

I made a mistake yesterday. And I have been reminded of a lesson I thought I had already learned. 

I only discovered the mistake this morning because I was going to blog about something I posted on Facebook yesterday and I was looking for the original link. Why I didn't do this yesterday before posting, I do not know. "I was in a hurry," is the short answer. Not a good answer. 

The article expressed sentiments with which I strongly agree. That is the real answer. The worst possible answer.

Many of us are looking for ways to bolster our beliefs and for ways to share those beliefs with others. I have freely lectured in the past that sharing bogus information is not the way to accomplish those goals. Unless of course we believe sharing half-truths is a good thing, and I hope none of us do believe lying is an acceptable way to make a point. I do not believe in lying to help a cause or spread a message. But negligence is just as bad.

I apologize for not giving due diligence before sharing yesterday. Here is my mistake.

I posted what was purported to be Charley Reese's final column. It was in fact not his final column, but one that he wrote in 1984, then re-worked in 1995. I knew when I posted, I supposed anyway from the context, that the addition at the end of the piece about various taxes would not have been part of his original article, but I did not note that. It was clear to me when I read it that whoever wrote the "introduction" had added that and other information, but I didn't specify that. I had supposed it would be clear to everyone, but that doesn't make my carelessness any more excusable.

The irony is that I had planned to write about how we, as individuals, are responsible for our attitudes and actions, just as Reese describes 545 people — the members of Congress, the president and the nine Supreme Court justices — as being responsible for the U.S.'s domestic problems. Responsibility must infiltrate every corner of what we do and say if we are to be successful, healthy and good citizens.
 
Probably what is worst about the situation, regarding my post yesterday, is that someone monkeyed with Reese's words in the column itself, updating it to make it sound current. Following is a link which reprints (as nearly as I can tell!) the column in question, with a good editor's note which includes:

"The phenomenon [of the column recently making the rounds on Facebook and elsewhere] speaks to the pitfalls of the Internet, but it also speaks to the endurance of the ideas Reese put forth and how strongly they resonate today."

I just flat-out failed to check the facts. Right now I'm sticking a note on my computer monitor with the words "Charley Reese's column," which I hope will serve as a reminder to me for future reference. I want this lesson to be one I learn once and for all.

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/4466081-95/545-column-president-reese