"Just the facts, ma'am"

Most of us have heard the words, but next to no one that I have encountered could tell me where it came from. While "Just the facts, ma'am" has come to be known as Dragnet's catchphrase, it was never actually uttered by Joe Friday; the closest he came were, "All we want are the facts, ma'am" and "All we know are the facts, ma'am". "Just the facts, ma'am" comes from the Stan Freberg parody St. George and the Dragonet. As I speak to people about social concerns, I often get little nuggets of gold; facts and details about people, places, or events that I have never heard before. As I inquire about the origin of these facts, the most common response is, “ I heard it (or read it) somewhere.” This is a very suspect statement. Do you mean to tell me that you are supporting your argument with facts of which you have no idea of its origin?
In lies one of the greatest flaws of human communication. Within the Ego, we as humans do not want to appear wrong or uninformed, so we often make accusations. The Ego comprises that organized part of the personality structure that includes defensive, perceptual, intellectual-cognitive, and executive functions. Instead of saying, “I don't know”, we resort to some bastardized concept of reality based on what we think and not what we know. So let's imagine that there is some inkling of truth to what you claim. Let's refer to the Intelligence Collection Cycle, used by every intelligence organization on the planet, for just a moment. When information is received, it begins to be processed. Evaluation of relevance and reliability, and collation of the raw intelligence is prepared for future use. Let's dissect this and translate in human tongue.
We encounter thousands of pieces of information on a daily basis. We all know that our brain records everything that occurs all around each of us, moment to moment. Our brains tell us whether the information is relevant to what we do. This decision is not wholly yours. Although our subconscious remembers everything, you may only actively remember small pieces of the whole puzzle. This isn't new to anyone, but it is important to understand as we proceed.
How reliable is the source of your information? If you hear a first hand account of an event from someone, you would expect that they had all the facts. What do we see policemen do when questioning people? They take statements from everyone; eyewitnesses, parties involved, etc. How unjust would it be if you were in an automobile accident and the police officer taking the report did not want to hear your side of the story? So, I say that to say this. Reporters, journalists, writers, videographers, have written detailed accounts of a situation. How close were they to the event? The trouble with the Internet is that so many people are using second or fiftieth hand information to present what they call fact. The old saying, “people believe what they read” is very true. So what do we do to verify information?
Just like eating healthy food...get as close to the source. Before you make any comment based on a rumor, you need to check your information through at least three sources. This is what the government calls Intelligence Correlation. Databases are kept as a primary tool used to support intelligence preparation for the battlefield, graphical display of enemy order of battle, and provides intelligence data feeds. Before the government takes action on any information they have to check with other domestic and foreign intelligence services to see if other sources are providing similar details. If no one can collaborate, then more oft than not, no action is taken. Anyone that knows our government knows that they are not quick to move anyway, even with a smoking gun in the hand of the shooter, with his hands in the air. Nevertheless, this is an important function so that negligence is avoided. Civilians die in battle due to lack of supporting intelligence about the possible civilian casualties. O.k., so you are not involved with foreign occupation. Let's talk about something as simple as a rumor. Have you ever been told that someone was saying something about you behind your back that wasn't true or may be only marginally true? If no one has ever said anything about you that is derogatory then you live in Antarctica and have never encountered another human being. What people do not know, they will fill in the blanks.
Anyone that has ever been on a debate team, whether it be in High School or College knows that all their supporting arguments have to be substantiated. If your source is less than reputable, then your argument has no merit. To come to some sort of point to all this is that during your conversations with others, particularly me, make sure that you know what you are talking about. KNOW being the word of choice being that you are able to differentiate opinion from fact. We are all entitled to our opinion, however, present it as such. For business, I am very clear in presentations, the information that I am presenting as facts and those other caveats that are just my opinion. It is only ethical to do so. Our day to day conversations will be so much more fruitful when we stick to what we know and not argue with people that have no idea what they are talking about in the first place.