The lies just keep coming. It’s appalling to hear intelligent people who are entirely bankrupt of morality use their position and communication skills to continue to spread lies about the election. And now they are lying about those who lead the insurrection at the Capitol. I’ve heard numerous pundits and individuals blame the violence at the Capitol on Black Lives Matter and Antifa, claiming that these groups dressed up as Trump supporters and stormed the Capitol to make them look bad. One woman vehemently claimed to a news reporter that she knows for a fact that Trump supporters would never cause a riot and that the trouble was caused by BLM and Antifa. Deranged supporters, absent any evidence, are still declaring that Trump won the election and that the White House is being stolen from him. Sadly, these Republicans are fed a continuous stream of lies from each other, right wing news outlets, political pundits, several lawmakers, conspiracy websites, and Trump himself. Amazingly, they don’t demand actual evidence to substantiate any of the false claims. It is enough for them that a public person makes these accusations because it feeds into what they want to believe.
It is difficult to break through the echo chamber to reach the dedicated members of the Trump cult. Many who call themselves Christians have apparently chosen a belief in Trumpism over their belief in the teachings of Christ. The love of neighbor is nowhere to be found. Others have swapped allegiance to the American flag for allegiance to Trump or to white supremacy or both. I believe there is little hope that these people will be transformed by the truth because they want and actually need to believe the lies. But most of the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump are not this radical and the truth might in fact set them free.
I think we need a public day of reckoning in this country to expose what brought us to this place. I want Congress to hold hearings on the 2020 election and to call witnesses to testify about what they did, what they saw, and what they said in the run up to the insurrection. Under oath and threat of perjury, the witnesses should include pundits, lawmakers, news casters, journalists, election officials, and everyone who had anything to do with or who spread information about the election. People like former major Rudi Giuliani, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Josh Hawley, congressmen who publicly spread rumors and lies, each secretary of state of the swing states, lawyers in the 62 court cases, the Trump children, poll watchers, poll workers, and others. The Congress should force the people to present evidence of their claims of election fraud. The American people need to hear the truth loud and clear.
To reiterate what I said in my post last week, our country needs to hold news media legally accountable to present facts based on evidence moving forward. Opinion shows need to be clearly labeled as such. Since news outlets are owned by large corporations driven by profit motives or a desire to socially engineer the society, too many news broadcasters are currently compelled to set aside ethical journalism standards. This has to stop and it is apparent that the corporations need regulations to compel them to do the right thing.
Lies are and have always been dangerous. It was shortsighted of us as a nation to think that we could allow ourselves to be subjected to a myriad of lies everyday without dire consequences. I hope we have learned our lesson and that we will publicly expose the truth. If we fail to act, then the poison of these lies will kill our democracy and many more innocent lives will be taken.
I like the fact that pardons remove 5th Amendment Protection from future testimony involving the pardoned. That the “Court of Opinion” loses when the Judge demands evidence, factual data & attorney honesty in a “Court of Law”. That Attorneys who Lie in court proceedings can be disbarred. That even a “45” appointed Supreme Court Justice will demand truth. More ethical & honest reporting, opinion media clearly labeled for what it is. More critical thinking adults & officials who choose the right (fair) action, even when it’s unpopular or politically challenging. Equal (fair & honest) Justice under the Law, Less false witness & more love (or respect) thy neighbor.