What Is The Difference Between Fact & Opinion?

My Facebook feed is filled with a mix angry rhetoric, humor and inane commentary about this and that.

Sometimes I read the comment thread and I wonder if people know the difference between fact and opinion. It reminds me of a Constitutional law class I took in college.

We were learning about free speech and reviewed what the Supreme Court had to say about pornography. Justice Potter Stewart made a comment about defining obscenity in which he said “I know it when I see it.”

That sums up many of the conversations I see online in which neither side gives an inch because they know it when they see it. Fact and opinion are used interchangeably there and no one seems to be concerned about it.

What Is The Difference Between Fact & Opinion?

During this Memorial Day weekend I am not going to give you my answer to that question. Instead I’ll say thank you to the servicemen and women who gave their lives for our country and offer my gratitude to their families too.

In addition I’ll express my thanks to those currently serving and share a message from President Obama too. I appreciate having the freedom to chew on your ears here and to participate in those conversations on Facebook and elsewhere because freedom isn’t free.