Will the willfully ignorant doom our country?

Not a day goes by that I don’t worry about the future of our country. Too many people either refuse to face facts or remain willfully ignorant of what’s going on in the world. They remain so blinded by their own preconceived notions and ideologies that they turn their backs on the truth.

We’re nearly two decades beyond the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, yet it’s not hard to find someone who still claims that he was impeached over a (insert crude name for a sex act here.) That’s simply not true. Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice because he lied under oath in a court case. He also lost his law license because of those actions, and I have yet to hear of anyone ever being disbarred because they engaged in oral sex.

That’s just one of many examples of people not comprehending the truth and therefore not being willing to face facts. Because they either like Clinton or they dislike Republicans, they continue to put forth a false narrative that too many gullible people believe.

Need another example? Look back to last week, when news broke that a federal court ruled that Kentucky cannot deny tax breaks to the Ark Encounter project being built in Grant County, and Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration announced it agreed with the ruling and would not appeal it. Answers in Genesis filed the suit after the administration of former Gov. Steve Beshear reneged on its commitment to offer the tax incentives.

The court decision did not set well within the militant atheist community. They immediately took to their blogs and claimed that the state would be spending tax money to promote Christianity; specifically the account of the Great Flood and the building of Noah’s Ark, and that this was a violation of the First Amendment’s “mandate” of separation of church and state.

Except this isn’t what’s happening at all. The state is spending no money on the “Ark Park.” Instead, it is granting tax incentives to the project to recoup some of the construction costs. The facility will merely not have to pay the full amount of taxes it otherwise would if not granted the incentives. Instead of the state getting X number of dollars in new taxes generated from the “Ark Park,” it will get X minus the money the park gets to keep for itself. The state will still see an increase in tax revenue from the project, just not 100 percent of the proceeds. Letting an entity keep more of its revenue for itself is not the same thing as spending tax dollars on it. No one else’s tax dollars will be spent on the project, not even any of those paid by the protesting atheists.

The First Amendment prohibits governments from establishing an official religion or from preventing anyone from practicing the religion of their choice. It does not require that government and religion be kept separate. The origin of the phrase “wall of separation between church and state” in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association is well-documented, but the flawed use of the phrase in interpreting the First Amendment has resulted in needless troubles for decades. The idea that the use of Bible verses in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as performed in a Johnson County public school, the presence of a cross on a water tower in Wilmore or the presence of a picture of Jesus Christ in Breathitt County equals the government adopting Christianity as its official religion is a stretch of the largest possible magnitude.

Claiming that allowing Answers in Genesis and the Ark Encounter to keep some of the new tax revenue it generates that would otherwise go to the state is a First Amendment violation is a similar stretch. It might be different if tax money was being appropriated out of the General Fund to give to Answers in Genesis, but that’s not the case here. No money paid by anyone else is going to the “Ark Park.”

It’s fine if you have a philosophical disagreement with a politician. Heck, I have as many or more complaints about establishment Republicans and Congressional leaders as I do with President Barack Obama and others of the liberal mindset. You and I may have different opinions on abortion, Obamacare, national defense or any other issue. But if you’re going to criticize a specific action, you should do so on a factual basis. There’s an old saying that you’re entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts.

I heard that some people took exception to my recent column in which I described the criticisms of some of Gov. Bevin’s actions as being rooted in cluelessness. I stand by that statement. Just about every complaint I saw about Bevin’s executive orders cited a falsehood and relied on a complete misunderstanding of what actually happened, especially those comments made by non-Kentuckians who got incorrect information from national blogs and websites.

Feel free to disagree with Bevin’s rescission of the minimum wage increase for state employees, but don’t claim that his order took money out of the pockets of those who had already gotten the raise. Don’t like the decision to take county clerks’ names off of marriage licenses? Go ahead and complain, but don’t say that it discriminates against anyone or makes it more difficult for anyone to get a license.

Since those widely-misunderstood executive orders were issued last month, Bevin’s done even more to draw misguided ire from his opponents. Following through on a campaign promise, he started the process to do away with Kynect, Kentucky’s health care exchange which was established under the Affordable Care Act. That really prompted the cacophony of the clueless to go into full song, as they claimed that Kentuckians would lose their health insurance and thousands would die.

Kynect is just one source of health insurance. The federal exchange and website remain, as do private insurance agents. Saying that people will no longer have access to health insurance once Kynect is gone is like saying people will starve if one grocery store closes. There are other grocery stores, and there are other marketplaces for health insurance.

Again, it’s all right if you have an ideological difference with the new governor. I don’t agree with all of his plans and policies and philosophies. But please, if you’re going to criticize a specific action, do it from a factual base. Don’t make up stuff or claim things that aren’t true. Educate yourself on the issues. Seek alternative news sources besides those that reinforce your views. Look beyond your preconceived notions or ideological persuasions. Don’t be willfully ignorant or intentionally clueless. Healthy debate is good for society, but only if all the debaters are knowledgeable.