22-06-2013, 06:38 PM
Tracy Riddle Wrote:I generally like Prouty, but he is not a geologist. And even on subjects related to his background, he sometimes makes claims that are not supported by the evidence. He claims that the motorcade route in Dallas should have been completely locked down with every window closed and every rooftop watched. However, there are numerous photos and videos of motorcades before Dallas (both JFK and Eisenhower) that show the same conditions as in the Dallas motorcade.
I once had a reader write to me to say that I had misspelled the word "Colombia", in an article I had written. This was quite true, I had. The reader went on to say that this error had, in his opinion, destroyed the veracity of my article and thus also my credibility. The piece had taken months of hard research involving all sorts of sources - but none of that mattered to him. I had to point out it was a typo, one of the daily gremlins that beset writers and journalists, especially dyslexic ones, as I was (and remain).
Like many of his essays and books, Prouty writes from a first hand perspective. I have always found that quite refreshing. I tend to prefer personal experience from a credible participant when it is available. I have usually been struck by Prouty's honesty too.
His experiences in the foregoing article seems to me to be also based on personal observation - plus some general - but not specific understanding - of the subject matter. It was an on the ground report, for want of a better description - and must've been one of many similar others he had written for senior officers during his Pentagon days.
I don't see that this in any way disqualifies his obervations or experiences.
No one is perfect. Humans are flawed creatures by definition. Errors of judgement or observation happen all the time.
Reaching a judgement is, I think, all about weighing the evidence, the personal experiences, the person, their deductions, and reaching a decision based on the the weight of probability.
This simply reflects my own personal philosophy about judging the credibility of writers and journalists. It is by my own foregoing definition flawed.
I also like Prouty. Quite a lot, in fact.
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Carl Jung - Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14