The reaction to Joe Biden’s super broad pardon of his son Hunter provoked a reaction exposing how each half of the country views things from different perspectives. Do we have any common sources of information, or do we exist in two distinct bubbles?

On one side, the president did what any father would: protect his offspring. The Justice Department prosecuted his son, Hunter, because of who he is. Nobody else goes to prison on similar charges. In any case, Hunter was on drugs when he committed the crimes, and now he’s clean and sober. Isn’t this the country of second chances?

With the holiday season upon us, forgiveness seems the right course. Other presidents have pardoned family members, so why pick on an old retiring man who spent his entire adult life in public service simply for being a loving father? A Wall Street Journal letter writer made this case, speaking for many, seeing the pardon in terms of kindness, not flouting the law.

Rather than owning up to being grinches, others see the pardon in entirely different terms. A flawed politician took action to protect family members, including himself, from exposure to his corrupt family influence peddling business. Joe Biden represents the worst of the political class. Serial lying while lining their pockets. An earlier presidential run was killed by being caught plagiarizing others’ work, but a wide array of character flaws never stopped him for long.

The volume of lies surrounding Hunter’s laptop is enough to illuminate who Joe Biden is. The computer isn’t Hunter’s; it’s Russian disinformation. The support for his contention is a letter from 51 former intelligence “experts” instigated by his campaign leader. He has yet to meet with Hunter’s clients. He never discussed business with his son. All lies. Biden built his career on a mountain of lies. Why believe him now?

Are we talking about the same person? Those taking a dim view of Biden’s character probably voted against Kamala Harris, who couldn’t think of anything she would do differently than Joe. People seeing a kindly, dedicated public service are comfortable with Harris’ close association with Biden and voted for her. The country is divided almost evenly between Trump and Harris. We see different things.

Maybe we choose to block out inconvenient truths” and actively avoid information sources disagreeing with our views—a deaf ear, if you will. Still, there are facts out there. Ignoring them doesn’t change reality. It only leads to poorly based decisions.

Whether on the right or left, good journalists and biographers can list the known facts of Joe Biden’s life, both good and bad, and let the consumer decide, but we rarely find this to be the case. Hence, we are talking about two entirely different people, but only one, Joe Biden, exists.

If Hunter’s blanket pardon isn’t enough, there is also talk of issuing preemptive pardons for others seen in the Trump crosshairs. Those mentioned receiving this largess elicit the same contrasting views as Biden himself. One of the possible recipients, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is particularly polarizing.

One side sees him as having a stellar career in his medical science field but getting involved with questionable “gain of function” research and using influence beyond his abilities. In my series on COVID-19, I proposed he was an example of the “Peter Principle,” a person rising a step above their talents. Others see him as the voice of reason and science.  

Fauci’s role in the COVID-19 epidemic will forever define him. As the medical face of our response to the disease in the Trump administration and rising to czar status in Biden’s, the massive mistakes linked to his actions from the Wuhan Lab on.

Evaluating the highly decorated doctors’ stances on the gain of function research, COVID-19’s origin, lockdowns, social distancing, vaccine effectiveness, mandates, and continued school closings continues to take place—his efforts to suppress opposing points of view documented.

These ongoing investigations point to a solution to our national split vision. Discover the facts and confront those pushing faulty information immediately. This course means following wherever the investigation leads, no matter your preference for outcomes.

Rather than preemptive pardons, encourage far-reaching and impartial inquiries into what a Trump administration might confront those in danger with and get the facts out there before legal actions occur. Publicizing the facts should preempt trouble if Fauci had a sound basis for his actions.

However, if the investigations show fault, why would you protect them? In Dr. Fauci’s case, millions died. Others had their lives destroyed, and school children are still behind. Being accountable is how we learn from our failures. Should people be held responsible? How else do we learn from mistakes?  

What worries me is offering these pardons to stop holding people responsible when the new administration takes over and uncovers the truth about certain situations. For instance, Dr. Jay Bachaccaria, taking over at the National Institute of Health, would be able to expose wrongdoing at the NIH. Is this a threat to Dr. Fauci and his old boss, Dr. Francis Collins?

As I said, we need a central challenge clearinghouse where facts and the data behind them are readily available. Danial Patrick Moynihan had it right when he said, “You have a right to your opinion. But not to your own facts.”

Rather than sticking to our own opinions, common factual grounds will provide a proper basis for discussion between all of us. When I was growing up, one of the most watched TV shows was “Dragnet,” the key police detective, Joe Friday, had a famous saying: “All we want are the facts, ma’am.” Like Joe Friday, all we want are the facts.