Our Presidential Election is Rigged
Fortunately, my headline is a complete and total fabrication. According to the Government Accountability Office there is zero chance that fraud will sway the election.
Unfortunately, headlines such as this, are twice as likely to be forwarded as truth and according to Ed Brayton, the author of a recent piece on Patheos, studies show that 60% of Facebook shares are created by people who have not read the full story they are sharing. It’s the reason I recently gave up Facebook. In my core I knew that when it became easier to fabricate reality than pursue facts I had to move on.
However, the current out of control political climate moves me to speak up and tear down a few myths that are floating around the internet and our airwaves.
Just because you read it doesn’t make it true!
• Muslims are evil. Jews own the banks. Christians are hypocrites.
• Chris Matthews has endorsed Donald Trump
• Obama supports radical Islam
• Hillary is a guilty of criminal conduct
• The media is biased toward liberals
• The State Department paid ransom to Iran
• Hillary is a direct funder of terrorism
• Jews who support the Iran deal are self-hating Jews
• Google and Facebook are part conspiracy to silence Trump
• Trump knows more about ISIS than the Generals
• Huma Abedin has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood
Here’s another headline “Everybody Lies” You know it, I know it, we all know it to be true. Let’s be “honest”, we also know there’s a big difference between the truth and a lie. Truth is fact, absolute – a lie is…well a lie is when you intentionally say something that’s not true. So it should be pretty clear cut, or maybe not?According to the fact checking site Politfact, only 14% of Trump’s statements are true while 56% have been outright lies. Clinton’s statements have been true 70% of the time and 7% of her statements are outright lies. The obvious conclusion would be that Trump cannot be trusted nearly as much as Clinton. However, a poll by The Washington Post on November 1st, showed that when it comes to honesty, the public now sees Clinton and Trump locked in a dead heat.
So what’s the deal? Who’s telling the truth, who’s lying? Joseph Goebbels the Nazi propaganda minister of who orchestrated the murder of millions, would explain it this way, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
Here is one thing I am proud to write and confident is true, America has consistently been great again and again because of our long tradition to pursue justice. America has been great when we pursued equal rights, civil and worker rights. We have realized this American dream time and time again by fighting for LGBT, black, woman human, marriage and voting rights. America is the envy of the world because of our American tradition to protect the weak our youth our immigrants and our environment. By embracing the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness we insure the dreams hopes and ability of all people to soar to unimagined heights.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
In a season driven by sensational news headlines and a world that feels increasingly fearful of ‘the other’ we must remember that our country was built on the promise of diversity. America has grown rich on the shoulders of dreamers and the promise that we will not only survive but thrive when we commit to love and respect our neighbors as we wish to be loved and respected. We have much to be proud of, and there is still much work to be done. We need a leader who will bring our nation together. A voice that strives to unite all of us regardless of race, creed, religion, color or economic standing. We must be willing to embrace not just what is but what ought to be. And we need to recognize that the choice is ours to make. If not now, when?
There is only one candidate who has steadfastly pursued and protected the greatness that is America. Vote Truth.
