False Dilemma

Nobody asked but …

One of the reasons why a dilemma can be false is that life, in reality, seldom sorts itself into two distinct and mutually exclusive choices.  The more classical definition of the false dilemma is where one person tries to convince another that the failure of A will certainly cause the advent of B.  If you don’t vote for Jane Doe, then Dane Joe will win.  Many of us are touting such dilemma this election season.  The thing that makes this a devastating fallacy is that we excuse bad judgment by imagining that there are only two choices.  Do the people of this country only have two choices come November?  No!  I can name 6 choices that don’t make for civil disobedience — Johnson, Stein, don’t vote, write-in, Clinton, and Trump.  Some will say most of these choices are impractical.  Be that as it may, in the short run.  They all have complexes of consequences in the long run.  Choose quickly or choose wisely — a true dilemma.

Kilgore Forelle