Truth is tough to find these days, but there's a place called 'Heaven'

One thing that's truly disturbing  these days is that the two sides of our American spectrum are so far apart philosophically that they can't even agree on the facts.

The best (worst?) example of that is the recent case in Sanford, Fla., in which George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing Trayvon Martin. Depending on who you believe, Zimmerman took an aggressive position, stalked the 17-year-old Zimmerman and was glad to take the opportunity to kill him. Or the other view, that Martin was a bulked-up kid who knew mixed martial arts and attacked Zimmerman, forcing the older man to kill him in self-defense.

I saw one person saying Martin shouldn't have been walking around at 2 a.m., and another saying no, it was actually only 7 p.m.

I'm reminded of what Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said to President Reagan's economic team in the 1980s. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

That's a pretty great statement, only these days both sides use it on each other because there is no consensus on what the facts are.

For that, I blame the media. These days they may know what's right, but they will not call a liar a liar. All it would have taken is a phone call or two in Sanford to find out how much Martin's body weighed at death. Some things really aren't a matter of opinion.

There are still facts in the world, whether we want to admit it or not.

***

It's funny how things come back into your life. I love '60s music, and one band that was really wonderful was the (Young) Rascals, who churned out one hit after another for four years. Only a few of those songs get much airplay on Oldies stations, and mostly you'll hear early hits like "Good Lovin'" and "Groovin'," two of the band's three hits to reach the top of the charts in the U.S. and Canada.

Three No. 1 hits is a major accomplishment -- that's as many as the Beach Boys had in the '60s -- but some of the Rascals' most memorable songs didn't make it to No. 1. "Lonely Too Long," "How Can I Be Sure," "A Beautiful Morning" and others still resonate down the decades.

But it was the last song of theirs I ever heard, in early 1969, that I absolutely loved -- and totally forgot. I saw a Very Best of Rascals CD in a remainder bin for $5, looked at the back of it and saw "Heaven." I swear I haven't heard it in more than 40 years, but I've been listening to it over and over as I write this.

God, but it takes me back.



Yeah, there's a place called heaven ...