Rachel Maddow on relativism

First. I've got to say,this Rosie Perez fact check on Mitt Romney is hilarious. I'd assume this is viral by now? I think I may find a new hobby in watching homemade and independent political ads.

Second.
It drives me nuts that its impossible to find real consensus on... anything. A really good portrayal of the perplexing, just insane, ways that we try to apply relativism to science, politics, and everything else.

The unprecedented access to data and information should be the beacon that illuminates the world, once and for all. Head-spinning amount of information... enough to make you feel, on a daily basis, that personal knowledge is to the internet what a body of cells is to the entire universe. Religious universalism, cultural relativism, the like, are on the rise. No surprise there. How about more concrete things, say, science. Or even easier, he-said, she-said. We can practically rewind and replay any public statement of any high-profile politician made in the last couple of years. Consensus on things as basic as algebra should be easy! Not at all the case.

 With the help of peer review and, for the most part, the culture of integrity in the scientific community, the beacon, we'll say, has been lit a long time ago. However, on a personal and societal level, we've got a ways to go. there is no short-circuit around maturity. It seems as our society is still at a level of being awe-struck with the expanse of information. As if we all took a great "History of Civilization" course (and rightly so), and were so awe-struck at the sheer diversity of people and starting question whether we should be critical to belief structures just because they were in contrast to our own. And, then, we thought it necessary to apply the same principle to every other body of knowledge, not just that which dwells in "belief." The basis of scientific "relativism" and how it is used politically, can be summed up with a rhyme:

I'm rubber and you're glue. ...there are like a million studies out there, and they all say different things, and so anything you say bounces off of me and sticks to you.

 The way I see it, the relativism resides in two parts: 1) cultural and religious relativism and 2) The Problem relativism.

1. Good-intentioned people getting caught up in relativism as a way of achieving objectivity. Maddow, in the link above, talks about Politico's fact-checking in this respect. This is the kind of relativism that we got caught up in after that History of Civilization course.
2. People who know better are capitalizing on this approach, muddying the waters for the sake of making personal gain.