Believing vs Knowing

Dr Richard Kimble: They killed my wife.
Deputy Marshall Samuel Gerard: I know it, Richard. I know it.
--The Fugitive

Mises discusses the causes of blind adherence to socialism.

"People do not ask for socialism because they know that socialism will improve their conditions, and they do not reject capitalism because they know that it is a system prejudicial to their interests. They are socialists because they believe that socialism will improve their conditions, and they hate capitalism because they believe that it harms them. They are socialists because they are blinded by envy and ignorance."

Editorial/opinion pages seem to be aggregators of the envious and the ignorant. People head to these places to either gain comfort that others hold similar beliefs, or to battle those with differing opinions. At the end of the day, these people are rarely closer to the truth. They maintain their envy and ignorance.

Truth comes from shedding envy and ignorance. It is an intentional, persistent journey in pursuit of what is--wherever it leads.

When truth is grasped, a person no longer looks to others for validation of what he/she thinks or believes. Instead, that person knows.