If everybody knows something, it is probably a lie or half truth.

While I can only speak with first hand knowledge of those things "everybody knows" in the land known as the united states of america, this article is probably true all over the earth.

Have you every asked yourself how it is possible that everyone knows something which is non-trivial?

For example, here in the land called the united states, everybody knows that:

• Green pieces of paper with numbers on them are money; and
• Flouride in your drinking water is good for you; and
• Mercury is poisonous if touched, but good if implanted in your jaw; and
• Vaccines make you immune to diseases; and
• One plus one equals two; and
• Statutes and ordinances are the law; and
• Your birth certificate shows that you were born; and
• You must get a license to use your car to travel; and
• You must register your car with the state; and
• Everyone has a social security number;

and so on and so on. Think of anything that you "know" without having ever researched yourself and make a list.

Chances are, everything on that list is a lie or, at best, a half truth.

How can I say such a thing? Well, the answer is simplicity itself.

If the vast majority of people "know" something, yet have never looked into it themselves, they only know it because someone else wants them to believe it. They do not factually know it. Instead, they have elevated a belief to a state of knowledge within their minds, often considering anyone who would question such knowledge to be crazy, or at least a conspiracy "nut".

One plus one equals two.

Thats right. One plus one does not equal two.

Think that I am being crazy? Think again. Numbers are just mental constructs which we use to count quantities of things. Without knowing what substances we are adding, the statement one plus one equals two is non-sense.

One apple plus one car equals two what? capples? apars? non-sense.

Mercury is poisonous if touched, but good if used to fill your teeth.

On obvious lie. And yet, the vast majority knows that (a) be extremely careful around broken mercury thermometers as you can poison yourself and (b) the fillings dentists place in your teeth are perfectly harmless.

Two obviously contradictory statements both accepted without question.

Dollars are green pieces of paper with numbers on them.

If you hold up a hundred dollar bill, you think you have one hundred dollars.

But, have you ever asked what, specifically, is a dollar? Did you know that a dollar is a unit of measurement? So what, exactly is that piece of paper a measurement of? Something unsubstantial like "wealth"? Think again.

In the united states of america, a dollar is defined as24.75 grains of pure gold or 371.25 grains of pure silver. ( U.S. Coinage Act of 1792 )

So, what is that green stuff in your wallet? It is, as it states at the top of it, a "Federal Reserve Note". And a note is something you write to one of your friends right? Wrong. A Note is a promise to pay. A debt owed to someone.

A debt is not money...so why do we carry debt notes around in our pocket and pretend that they are money? Perhaps that is a question worth asking.

Everyone must get a social security number

Really? So the Quakers are not people?

Are you born with a social security number?

Obviously, with at least two million americans not having them it is not something that one must go out and get.

Ever stop to consider what, specifically, is being done when you voluntarily apply for a social security number? No? Why not?

Most americans ignorantly believe that they are obligated to get licenses to travel, to work in certain professions, to get married, to buy and sell, and to do a variety of other things.

Of course, what we are actually told is that we are "required" do them, not that we are "obligated" to do them. In a strictly legal sense, it is true, they must be done.

However, the other half of the statement is missing. If you are required to do something, you are required to do that thing in order for something else to happen.

If you want to be a licensed and regulated business, you are required to get a business license. They don't say you are obligated because everyone has the right to trade with others.

If you want to be a licensed driver and operate an automobile registered with the state, you are required to get a drivers license. They don't say that you are obligated because everyone has the right to travel.

If you want to have the state as a third party to your marriage able to control what you do with your children or settle disputes between you, you are required to get a marriage license. They don't say that you are obligated because any two people can choose to join themselves in marriage.

Crazy conspiracy nonsense? Or possible truth?

Only you can decide that. If you are curious, go look up the words "license", "submit", and "application/apply" in a good law dictionary such as Bouvier's.

Everyone in the united states knows that you are required to register your children, your car, and your home.

It must be true, right?

Sure. As noted above, require denotes doing something in order to get something.

You must register your children in order to what?

You must register your car in order to what?

You must register your house in order to what?

And what, specifically, do "register" and "registration" mean in a legal sense?

If you have never asked what you are asking for ( you are assumed to know, after all, you are asking for it ), then maybe you might want to do so one day.

When you come across something that "everybody" knows, you might want to consider keeping that information at the level of belief until you have time to verify it for yourself.

When you are told that you MUST do something or that you are REQUIRED to do something, perhaps you should consider asking for proof. After all, if something is "the law", then it should be a simple matter to (a) show that it is some kind of law and (b) show that said law applies to you.

Of course, I could just be crazy...but it has been my experience that if that unknown being called "everybody" knows something, then that something should be considered carefully before being accepted.