Growing up in the 80’s I was taught the concept of Absolute Truth. As defined by Wikipedia, “absolute truth is something that is true at all times and in all places.” This concept came to us from the passages contained in Plato’s Phaedo. Many theologians have tried to tie concepts of Absolute Truth to passages in the Bible. The opposite of it is Relativism. “Truth relativism is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths, that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference.” Today we find our society less interested in exploring the concept of absolute truth. No in fact, culturally we have moved largely toward this concept of relativism. I would be surprised if you haven’t heard someone say something along the lines of, “Well that might be your truth but it isn’t mine.” This type of statement has become more accepted than it should because honestly the concept of truth is being substituted by personal perception and opinion.
In 2016, Josh Bowmar legally took a black bear in Canada with a spear. His wife, Sarah Bowmar, was sponsored by Under Armour. I have had a long history with Under Armour. I first sold their products in the tactical market at Galls, Inc. Later I represented them as a Manufacturer’s Representative at Simpson Sales. Under Armour is an incredible company with an awesome story. Through social media, video of hunt surfaced and parts of the story unfolded. Mr. Bowmar delivered a lethal shot with his spear in the late evening. He was with a professional guide service who advised they wait until morning.
This has less to do with the animal harvested and more to do with a high population of bears. The prime time to hunt bears is early morning or late evening. At night, conditions can get very dangerous quickly. Canada boasts a healthy bear population but they also have a healthy wolf population. In fact, our US Government used Canadian Gray Wolves for reintroduction into lower parts of the North American Rocky Mountains.
I have personally bear hunted with a rifle and a bow. Bears are very smart, especially the older ones. Having watched them from a ground blind or tree stand, I can tell you that I have a profound respect for their instincts and abilities. From that personal experience, I can understand why Mr. Bowmar was excited but also why the guides wanted to wait until mid to late morning before attempting a recovery. Getting close to a bear is hard enough since they have an incredible sense of smell and hearing and using the knowledge that you are outmatched is a good thing.
The end result of all this was Mrs. Bowmar losing her sponsorship with Under Armour. Overall the Hunt/Fish/Tactical Division of Under Armour is small compared to the other divisions within the company. It was a calculated risk that didn’t necessarily pay off. Many hunters not only bought UA Hunt Apparel but also other products. Under Armour lost sales to many hunters and as is often the case the social justice warriors who promised to buy their products if they dropped the sponsorship never came through.
Using a Relativism approach here, you could argue the “truth” that harvesting a bear by any means is evil and cruel. Those who take this position will undoubtedly find a wealth of others who support their position and opinion. Likewise, you can find many to support a position that hunting a bear is legal as long as you obey laws and take methods, again this being another group’s “truth”.
However, these positions may be supported by facts but aren’t necessarily truths. And all too often we get caught confusing the two. They are interpretations of an event based on personal opinion or perception fanned by feelings or emotions. In math, a fact is a proven truth while truth is not just simply a single fact. Here is a simple mathematical example:
FACT: 1 + 1 = 2
TRUTH: 2 = 1 + 1, 2 = 2 +0 etc…
Truth demonstrates there are many equations that can add up to the whole number 2 but it is a fact that 1 plus 1 is always the whole number 2 in all cases and in all places. Therefore this equation is a good example of an Absolute Truth based on the earlier definition but is also a good example of a fact. Going outside of math or science, the original Latin word, Factum, means “thing done”.
Facts become part of a puzzle that must be then interpreted to find the truth. While we would like to think facts will lead us to the truth it isn’t necessarily so if we don’t account for our opinions or perceptions. At the end of the day, there is only one truth supported by the facts. It is silly to think there are two truths. In reality, there might be two or more perceptions or opinions but these are not truths. To interpret truths, one must remove personal bias and thread together the commonality of facts to come to truth. This can be determined by finding patterns and cause-effect relationship between facts. In the case of the Bowmar’s, a bear was taken legally, people expressed their opinions, a company made a decision, Mrs. Bowmar lost her sponsorship and the same company lost sales. Those are the facts, the things done. An example of truth here is that a threat of financial loss can be enough to impact decisions.
As we head toward elections this November, it is important to keep the relationship between fact and truth in mind. Much of what we see spread on social media outlets is an echo chamber of epic polarizing proportions where opinions, perceptions and even feelings replace fact or truth. This goes for both sides of the aisle to consider. I applaud someone like Karlyn Borysenko. She took the time to try and step out of her comfort zone and experience things on her own. She has even been interviewed now by Glenn Beck and you can see the video here. It takes courage to do what she did and frankly, that is what we need. Courage to look at our country honestly, to look at the facts objectively free from bias, to find a common thread or pattern in all of us and to find the real truth. Truth our forefathers bore in writing both in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That truth is why so many around the world want to come here and too many of us don’t realize what we have. Instead, some of us argue that we aren’t a great nation but that is a matter of perspective. If we don’t do what Karylon did, we will tear our nation apart out of emotionally charged opinions formed by our own version of the “truth”. We can’t be both the overwhelming destination of immigrants globally and an imperialistic racist oppressor. There is only one truth.
- L. Yarbrough, Bucks & Beers
