Author: tonihall805@outlook.com

I saw it coming and so I am baffled as to how law enforcement did not realize (or willfully ignored) that Trump supporters were going to storm the Capitol. Thank God many more people were not killed or injured and I’m sad for the Capitol policeman who lost his life. I have compassion for the families of the other four who died, but not for those insurrectionists. They made their choice, albeit after being radicalized because of their own character flaws that made them receptive to Trump and right wing conspiracies. I hope every one of the insurrectionists are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Yes, I am pissed off. But I am also frustrated and sad. However, I recognize that my strong emotions must be a catalyst to pushing for systemic changes in our government and laws.

For starters, the House needs to impeach and the Senate eventually needs to convict Trump of the crime of inciting the insurrection against our government. Doing this even after he has left office ensures that he can never run again for public office. This needs to happen! I think Biden is smart to stay completely out of this decision and to concentrate on his responsibilities as president. I’m hopeful that the Senate will first confirm the Biden cabinet and then take up the impeachment hearings. By then, Trump people will have cooled down a bit and perhaps some Republicans will have the good sense and courage to objectively do what is right.

Second, I think Congress needs to pass laws limiting the pardon rights of the presidency. Pardoning friends and family who break the law in duty to the president should be illegal. And of course, self-pardon should never be a thing. I doubt the framers of the Constitution even thought these two situations were even in the realm of possibility when they wrote the pardon provisions.

Third, I think regulations need to be put in place for social media. It isn’t right nor fair to leave it to these young men and women to decide whose speech should be magnified and whose should be silenced. I’m glad they finally decided to suspend or band Trump from their platforms, but the damage of the last five years has already come to fruition. Further damage is possible, so I’m glad they finally acted. However, moving forward, Congress needs to place parameters on what can be spread on social media. Promotion of violence, insurrection, and dangerous rhetoric to public health should be illegal.

Forth, Congress needs to step in and regulate the news media, making it illegal to knowingly pollute the airways with stories blatant lies, with stories that are not based in facts nor backed by actual evidence. We need to bring journalism back! The law should require a warning ahead of opinion shows that clearly states that the views presented are not necessarily based in fact nor evidence and only represent the views of the person(s) presenting. News media should be required by law to publicly and quickly correct the record on their platform when they get facts wrong. Although these are ethical principles of good journalism, they need to become actual law. We have experienced the results of misinformation coming from what should be reliable sources. When trust is gone, democracy is imperiled.

And finally, Congress and the Senate need to deal with the members in their respective chambers who have been spreading misinformation in support of their own political ambitions and contrary to the service of the Constitution and the people of the country. At the very least they should be censured and the worst among them should be expelled. It is time to clean house. Those who have not lived up to their oath of office have no business in Congress nor the Senate. The Ethics committees should take up this situation and come down hard.

What the Trump administration has taught us is that our democracy is fragile and needs actual laws, not just the reliance on decency and norms, to ensure that it can endure. I hope you’ll join me in making these suggestions to lawmakers. And now that we have the majority in the House and Senate, maybe we can get these things accomplished.

I only allow myself a few minutes of CNN each day and an occasional few minutes of Tik Tok, Facebook and Twitter every few days. The anger and angst fomented by President Trump and his supporters frustrates me and empowers Trumpians. It makes sense that nefarious characters are behind a scheme to destroy our country using the greed of social media companies, news outlets, and politicians as vehicles to spread division and chaos. I recently re-watched the Netflix dramatized documentary, “The Social Dilemma” and realized that we are in fact under attack by actors who want to undermine our entire system of government. And so fighting over America has commenced in earnest but the underlying conflict is between a few wealthy individuals who use the rest of us a pons in their war. However, the outcome of this war will determine the kind of nation we live in.

It should come as no surprise that America, past and present, is a country where individuals can amass a great amount of wealth and power through personal ingenuity or talent mixed with connections or luck. Of course, it also helps a lot to be a white male. And attending the “right” schools is also an advantage. But sadly, history has shown the ruthless tactics employed by many who desire to preserve and increase their wealth. The system America created allows wealth to be passed on to posterity, making for a powerful upper class possibly absent any of the talent or ingenuity of their ancestors. And yet their massive amounts of money can buy or influence media companies and politicians, thereby controlling the policies and narratives we encounter. Trump is a product of this system. He has inherited both the wealth and the ruthless nature of his father along with a white supremacist mindset that was unfortunately given a very loud platform.

I’m convinced that the force standing between Trump and authoritarianism are wealthy liberals who oppose him. I feel like we as Americans are mere pons in a fight among the gods. The Trump side is fighting for continued white male dominance and the opposition is fighting to open the windows of opportunities to others, trying to end generational poverty and oppression. However, our wealthy benefactors are really only talking about crumbs compared to their wealth. For whatever reason, they are disturbed by the massive inequality and blatant discrimination they see. I suppose I should be grateful.

However, in a fight for oneself versus a fight for others, the fight for oneself seems to have the most passion and energy. At the same time it is true that the fight for others has a moral basis and can garner the support and collective energy of the masses, us pons. This is what happened in the election. More Americans showed up to vote for Biden or against Trump than showed up for Trump. Thankfully. However, the Trumpians haven’t conceded and are using their misinformation machines in the media and social media to spread lies about a stolen or fraudulent election while the truth is that they are the only ones actively trying to steal the election.

Even as Trump loses court battle after court battle and fails to provide evidence of widespread voter fraud, Trumpians are putting forth theories that judges, even the Supreme Court judges, have been threatened if they support Trump. They are prime to believe the lies because at stake is an America they cannot fathom: an America where white “Christian” heterosexual males are not on top simply because of their whiteness. Their delusion threatens us all because of the lengths they are willing to go to in order to protect what they believe is rightfully theirs. So, a number Republican senators and congressmen now feel they have to pander to this nonsense by opposing the election results on January 6th. They are cowards and should be branded as such forever. Shame on them!

On January 20th, we should have a new president. But what will January 21st look like? I couldn’t wait for 2020 to be over, but my greatest fear is that 2021 may be even worse if we don’t get a handle on how, and what, information can be spread through news outlets and on social media. We need to move back to actual journalism and newsreaders and push the pundits aside. We need to be careful in our consumption of social media and must push for regulations that limit algorithms so we don’t remain in echo chambers.

The months ahead will be tough. I believe I’ll gear up for it with a third viewing of “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix.

I live in a nation wounded by insults cheered as entertainment turned toxic yet amplified by media as newsworthy

A place where truth itself is pierced by a barrage of lying arrows reaching the targeted ears of the vulnerable ripe for distortion

My country where many exchange a mythical America for reality, a noose around the neck of the strength of who we are together

A place where justice lies bleeding internally from repeated blows to the body of laws that once guided right and wrong and where wrongdoers now go unpunished

I mourn the 300,000 American deaths from a poisoned freedom that interprets freedom as a right to expose others to a deadly virus that knows no party and thrives on mythical thinking

This nation where a thousand cuts from the sharpened knives of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, and homophobia cover the bodies of the unemployed, environmentally poisoned, and food insecure everyday

My country where democracy itself remains on the chopping block with its spinal cord severed and a court of law blocking its final end.  For now.

I live in a nation where leaders cower in silent fear of the ruthless Trump Twitter pistol firing lethal rhetorical bullets at any righteous voice that dares to oppose him

So, who will rescue my nation in this final hour?  Who will bind our collective wounds with music, art, healing words, truth, kindness, and love for ourselves and others? Who will defend our nation by all means necessary?

The answer must be we ourselves

Both this election and this pandemic have revealed areas of systemic weakness in our society that are fixable if we put our collective voices and votes to work for us. At the top of my list is the prevalence of deadly misinformation campaigns, voter suppression tactics, and bigotry, all propagated by heterosexual white male supremacists.

I value the First Amendment that guarantees the freedom of the press. From the start, this freedom has allowed journalists to investigate and reveal what is happening in our country without government censorship. As citizens, we rely on this information to decide who is and who isn’t worthy of leading our city, county, state, and country. Until now, journalists have enjoyed the public trust because they were largely independent of political and profit motives. That has changed as white male corporate leaders and political leaders joined together with an agenda to preserve a nation whose actions and systems once greatly benefit white heterosexual males to the detriment of everyone else.

When listening closely to the information and misinformation that is pushed by conservative press outlets, it is evident that they are willing to lie and distort the truth in a way that injures people of color, non-white immigrants, outspoken women, LGBTQ people, and non-Christians. At first they work to damage the reputations of black and brown men and women by characterizing them as lazy, violent, absent of values, over-sexed, and dangerous. Non-white immigrants are characterized as job-stealing, law-breaking, welfare leeches who are a strain on our economy. Outspoken women are unattractive, subversive, emasculating, and shrill. LGBTQ people are a threat to children’s welfare and threaten the sanctity of heterosexual marriage. Non-Christians are a threat to Christianity and to national security with their un-American values. Under the guise of just reporting the news, these outlets poison white Americans and some members from these minority groups, into believing that America must be saved from its growing diversity. They are even willing to lie about the pandemic, knowing that COVID-19 will kill many more black and brown people than white people. This “make America great again” slogan is code for make white heterosexual male Americans unequivocally dominate again. And Donald Trump epitomizes this effort.

So it really matters who we listen to for our news. We have got to find a way to remind our fellow Americans about how news works, how science works, and how a democracy is supposed to work. We must remind our friends that opinions and commentary is not news. We have to gently point out to our family and friends that allocations and accusations without evidence are not news stories even if they are widely repeated by people on news channels. We have to shut these news organizations down by educating their viewers.

The epidemic of fake news is precisely why Trump and his supporters can’t accept defeat, even after doing all they could to suppress the vote and then after court after court rejected their calls to discard the will of the people. The only rigging of this election was done by Trump and his administration! The only one trying to steal this election is Trump and his band of supremacists. Thankfully, it hasn’t work. Trump and those in his camp are still scheming while also looking to 2024 to try again and they will try to suppress the vote even further if we do nothing.

This is why we absolutely need a new voter’s right act that will effectively end the Republican playbook of suppressing the vote of people of color. It is no coincidence that there are fewer polling places in areas where minorities reside. We need a House and Senate majority while Biden is president to push through a new voter’s right act that will make it illegal to enact laws that disenfranchise voters. They could make election day a national holiday. At the state level, we need to insist that our legislators make voting by mail open to every citizen who desires it. Early voting should be the norm to eliminate long lines and there should be polling places and drop boxes in proportion to population size. These are things we as citizens can and must demand of our legislators, starting now.

And finally, the most difficult weakness to deal with is the bigotry that has been illuminated since President Obama took office. The only solution I can offer for bigotry is what the studies by psychologist Gordon Allport revealed many years ago. People from different backgrounds who get to know each other personally while on equal footing experience a reduction in prejudice against people from the differing background. Mega studies of his theory have shown that the effect is especially strong among college age people, but it is true for all ages. Unfortunately, because America is so segregated in our neighborhoods and churches, it is largely up to workplaces and schools to make this happen. Our work to overcome bigotry has to be intentional and ongoing if we are ever going to overcome the dangerous force of white male supremacy that threatens our democracy through misinformation using freedom of the press and through voter suppression.

I understand that it is human nature to want to preserve the prestige, power, and privileged place one has enjoyed in a society. So, who can blame this small band of white males for resisting removal from the top of the American food chain? They are afraid. They are afraid they will have to compete with people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ and non-Christians for opportunities, resources, power, and wealth that was once guaranteed to them based entirely on the luck of their birth. America must continue to move toward a more perfect union. The alternative is to abandon democracy in favor of authoritarian rule by white heterosexual males who prove to not be the brightest nor the most competent among us. Exhibit A of the worst that can happen again is Donald J. Trump. Let’s learn from our mistake and not repeat it. It’s going to take the prudent among us to save our society.

Here we are again. In 2020 it is hard to believe that we were once a nation divided over the morality of one human being owning another human being for financial gain. It took the blood of over 400,000 Americans to decide that issue. In reality, the core issue was human decency versus human depravity. White Americans had not only convinced themselves that God made them superior beings but southern whites were also convinced that God sanctioned their right to subjugate, humiliate, torture, and exploit the labor of black skinned people. To do this, southern society and slave owners had to first ignore and then outright deny the humanity of slaves. I can’t imagine waking up every morning feeling superior to others and knowing that I was going to exploit and harm others for money. Southerners were able to reject the inherent intelligence, emotions, ambitions, talents, pain and suffering that was visibly evident in the people they enslaved. I am reminded that the human psyche is capable of deep levels of depravity when motivated by self-interest. And we are seeing it again. And once again, God is being utilized to sanction the depravity.

It isn’t enough for me to just shake my head when 74,000 Americans vote for a man to lead our nation who has proven himself to be corrupt, incompetent, unpatriotic, and morally bankrupt. It isn’t enough for me to scream at the television when Trump falsely claims election fraud and his supporters, including lawmakers and right wing media encourage his bullshit lawsuits and bullying. It isn’t enough for me to throw up my hands when white women echo how the election was stolen without one shred of actual evidence other than Trump said it, so it must be true because God put Trump in the White House. It isn’t enough for me to sigh when Trump supporters protest shouting “Stop the Steal” and stupidly contribute $200 million to his war chest. It isn’t enough for me to be disgusted by Trump supporters who issue death threats to election officials who protected the election process and then publicly validate its outcome. But what is enough?

I really wish I had an answer for defenders of human freedom. For now, all I can think to do is write about it and lend financial support to Democrats to fight for control of the Senate through the Georgia senate races. For now, I can like and share the voices on social media like Tic Tok of articulate and passionate individuals who are calling out Trump and Trump supporter bullshit. I especially like DJPJ, M.D, Breakfastrant, and Jeremycradio. For now, I can financially support and highlight political action groups like the Lincoln Project, Black Lives Matter, and Indivisible . I can use my pen, my voice, and my pocketbook. Others have different weapons at their disposal.

The 2020 Civil War is at our doorstep and this time decent freedom-loving humanists (and the courts) are fighting against the depraved reprobate thinking of cowardly Republican leaders, bigoted human beings, uneducated gullible Americans, religious zealots, and greedy media corporations. These people are blatantly craving dictatorial power over our society. They want to return to the oppression of women, people of color, and LGBTQ. At their core is America’s original sin, white supremacy and religious bigotry. And they are willing to do make “America great again” through dictatorship rather than democracy if that is what it takes.

I hope this conflict doesn’t come to more violence than at yesterday’s protest in D.C. where several people were stabbed, but Trump supporters own guns and intimidation and death threats are their normal mode of operation. There are more of us, but how far are we willing to go to preserve our freedoms? I am hopeful that perhaps we can utilize the power of persuasion, the courts, and the vote to bring enough of our fellow Americans back to their senses before it is too late. It didn’t work in 1861 and I’m not entirely certain it will work today. But we’d better do something quick because our democracy and ultimately our freedom depend on it.

About twice each day, I have to remind myself that 2020 is almost over. For some reason I feel a bit confused and perhaps stuck in March 2020 when the world stopped. What was normal everyday life changed overnight by COVID-19. Perhaps some of my confusion stems from my neglect. I’m still carrying my green spring purse. I left the Easter pillows in the living room until last week when I decorated for Christmas. Perhaps it is because I never put away my spring clothes in favor of summer, then fall, and now winter. I didn’t bother with my 4th of July decorations nor my fall decorations. I literally ignored these self-imposed rituals that followed each season to signal a mental progression throughout the year. in truth, I’ve never experienced anything like 2020 and didn’t know how to respond.

A few days ago, I caught myself mid-sentence about to proclaim 2020 as the worse year ever when I realized a few bright spots. First and foremost, I realized that in the midst of this pandemic that turned life upside down, none of my immediate family members caught COVID-19 and that each family member retained a livable income. We all had toilet paper and plenty to eat. I realized that my husband would survive his lung cancer. I realized that my first biological grandson was conceived and is genetically healthy. Another huge highlight is that my 38 year old daughter finally found her calling and her platform to help others who struggle with mental health issues like she has struggled with since college. I also discovered BTS in February 2020 and took refuge in their extensive musical offerings and delightfully real personalities pretty much every evening. I experienced the love and concern of my sorority sisters who, like my family, prayed for us and checked in on me regularly. And perhaps one of the greatest positive highlights was that Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by some 8 million votes and most importantly won the electoral college.

So, I can’t say that 2020 was the worse year of my life, but I can say that it was the most challenging both physically and mentally. Worrying and caring for a sick loved one takes a toll and that has been true. The transition to working from home has been a major adjustment along with many workplace changes. Even moving our family reunion from an in-person event to a virtual one in July was stressful, doable, but not ideal. And of course, this high stakes presidential election was an unintended and unavoidable stressor for me as a patriot who couldn’t divorce herself from the process.

In the course of all this mayhem, my ulcer flared up and my blood pressure has shot through the roof. I put off going to any of my medical appointments because of COVID-19 and because I was busy with my husband’s illness until I couldn’t avoid it any longer. And of course, my health has taken a hit. So, I’ll take my new medications and try to do better with stress reduction, drink more water, get more sleep, eat better and exercise a bit more.

With 2021 just weeks away, I am hopeful. My husband is recovering. A vaccine will be available soon. My grandson is due to arrive in mid-April. We’ll have a new president and hopefully, a new senate leader. And I’m thinking about how I can make 2021 a better, less stressful year.

Humans are social beings. And so this pandemic is wrecking havoc on the mental health of many who are prudently foregoing in person social gatherings with family and friends. Admittedly some people are definitely more social than others and need a constant diet of intimate human contact to feel good. Personality experts say that extroverts gain energy from human interaction while introverts like me, are actually drained by too much interaction. Being alone for most of the time since my husband got sick hasn’t caused me much distress. I was alone in the house, but not at all lonely. It’s enough for me to text or talk to loved ones on the phone, to have Zoom meetings for work, and to grocery shop, chit chatting for a few seconds with the clerk. Even the prospect of spending Thanksgiving alone because my husband was still in the hospital and our family decided not to gather because of COVID-19 didn’t bother me. I easily assured my extroverted children that I was just fine. They saw my situation as sad while I saw it as an opportunity to decorate the house for Christmas a few days early.

However, while happily putting up Christmas decorations, I was interrupted when my husband called at around 1pm on Thanksgiving to announce that he was being released from the hospital. I thought it was strange that just the day before his doctor said he was moving in the right direction but that it would take a few more days before he would be released. I didn’t question it, thinking he had made a faster than expected recovery. So, with two chest tubes still in place and pages of instructions for care along with a ton of medical supplies, I drove him home from the hospital feeling anxious because I have no medical training. Sure enough, once we got home, my husband confessed to insisting upon his release. He said he was feeling depressed being in the hospital on Thanksgiving and wanted to come home. So, they allowed it.

The human drive for warmth and interaction among loved ones is strong and can drive poor decision making. The need is stronger than rational thought and we saw this play out during the Thanksgiving travel season when many Americans decided to have Thanksgiving among family and friends despite the risk. As I drove past my neighbors houses to go pick up my husband, I noticed three houses with quite a few additional cars parked along the street. I was shocked to discover that even my next door neighbors, a retired couple, left for the Thanksgiving holiday. Their need to see their grandchildren was likely the pull they couldn’t resist. And I soon discovered that my own husband’s emotional need muted his rationality.

I heard a healthcare professional warn in a television interview that having a Thanksgiving gathering could mean fewer family members will see Christmas and that there will be family members missing next Thanksgiving. Yet people still boarded planes and drove in cars to gather anyway. The problem isn’t just the people who think the virus is a hoax, although they are definitely the most dangerous, but it is also among the rational who understand that this virus is deadly, but are setting aside the risk. I watched an interview of a family getting a COVID-19 test prior to driving to gather for Thanksgiving with extended family. I guess that is better than nothing. But we all know that you can test negative today and be positive tomorrow. I wondered if they were planning to quarantine from the test until they reach their family. And what about the others at the gathering? I can guarantee my behavior, but not any one else’s. Time will reveal any consequences from these emotional decisions. I’m prayerful that it was worth the temporary emotional boost so many needed and that everyone will be around for Christmas.

But for us, Christmas will be similar to Thanksgiving with no gathering. And we made a few additional adjustments from last year. We acknowledged that while we still have incomes, many do not. We collectively decided not to exchange gifts, but to instead donate to food banks and contribute to toy drives. I did my Black Friday thing and purchased toys to give away. I put up the artificial tree in the family room, but we won’t get a real one this year for the living room and my decorations are a fraction of what I usually do. Perhaps my daughters will cook as they did for Thanksgiving and drop off meals to family members. That was such a thoughtful thing for them to do. It was great to open the door and see my daughter at the end of the walkway and a bag of Thanksgiving fixings at the door. The food was delicious.

As for my husband’s emotional decision to leave the hospital, there were consequences. Saturday morning we had to return to the hospital for a problem with the drainage tubes that we couldn’t resolve. My husband was certain they were going to re-admit him. However, the physician’s assistant took care of the problem and thankfully my husband didn’t have to stay. Because of COVID-19, the beds are few and with his lung issues, he is safer at home.

My hope is that things will get back to normal after this vaccine is widely distributed. If 75% of us get vaccinated, then next year, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be all the more wonderful without the threat of illness. My son and his wife are making plans to visit us next Christmas with their first born, a baby boy who is expected to arrive in April 2021. We’re planning to have a big family gathering in Las Vegas. So, my fingers are crossed that enough Americans will be vaccinated to make our 2021 Christmas gathering a reality.

It occurs to me that the need to gather socially is part of being human, but what makes us mature human beings is the ability make rational decisions and to delay emotional gratification. During this pandemic, introverts clearly have a natural advantage while extroverts will have to dig deep to muster all the maturity and resilience they can in order to survive and to protect those they love.

Happy holidays and stay safe.

I think I first heard the term, “Let the buyer beware” in a college marketing class. At the time I didn’t interpret that to mean that marketers had the right to knowingly and unabashedly misrepresent themselves or their goods or services to convince people to buy. Nor did I think that it was the sole responsibility of the consumer to discern between true and false claims in order to protect themselves. Perhaps I was foolish to assume that there were reasonable guard rails, protecting the public against being scammed by con artists on a daily basis. Well, of course I was foolish to believe this. I watch in horror as Donald Trump is tries to scam the entire nation out it its democracy and rule of law. In addition, every time we pick up a phone from an unknown number we run the risk of being scammed. I was taken in just this week by a phone call from someone claiming to be from Apple Support.

Being the victim of one of these scams this week taught me a few important lessons. First among these lessons is that the scammers are looking for an opening or a vulnerability. I don’t usually answer calls from unrecognized phone numbers. But because my husband is in the hospital, I’m getting calls from doctors and nurses and physical therapist and pharmacies. These numbers are all unrecognizable to me, but I don’t want to miss out on a call. So, when my cell phone rang and the number wasn’t flagged as a scam, I answered it.

The man identified himself as being from Apple Support and said that he was calling because they noticed suspicious activity on my I-cloud account coming from New York and South Carolina. I was receptive to the idea because just before my husband went into the hospital he was working with a tech support person because his computer had been hacked. I was ripe to be victimized. I was in a vulnerable position mentally and that provided the scammer with an opening.

Long story short, after two hours, it finally occurred to me that this was a scam. What saved me was a block I had long ago placed on my credit card account that ensured that I have to call the bank prior to making large purchases. Thank goodness because that phone call to the bank confirmed my growing suspicion that this was in fact a scam. They had cleverly gotten me to purchase a $500 gift card from the Apple app store by making myself the recipient with the understanding that Apple would refund me the entire amount within minutes. The $500 was to purchase a security key to encrypt my IP address. I questioned the “tech” person about the weird process for several minutes before finally giving in. But then two things happened that made me doubtful. First, was when she asked for the authentication code on the gift card. I refused to give it. She said okay and then supposedly needed a second $500 gift card to get another key because the first wasn’t enough to clear up my “big problem”. Having seen the refund in my email from Apple Support, I tried but failed to purchase a second gift card because of my self-imposed credit card purchasing limit.

It wasn’t until I was on my landline phone with my bank when the bank representative acknowledged that they saw the pending charge for $500 but that they did not see any pending refund. I then noticed that the email address used for this Apple Support refund was in fact from a Gmail account. Why would Apple use Gmail? The banker confirmed that this was a scam. When I told the tech person that this was a scam, she said the bank call I made from my landline was to one of the scammers. I hung up on her.

I spent the next couple of hours cleaning up my computer, changing all my passwords, and calling Apple Support where I learned that the scammer had already cashed in the $500 gift card without my even providing the authentication code. Apple apparently has a whole fraud department designed to go after these folks. I gave her the phone number (which was from the same area as the real Apple Support) and the email address used for the bogus refund. She would give this information to the Apple fraud team. She then told me that these people have gotten very sophisticated in their schemes but that they always leave a footprint. Apparently they are able to steal authentication codes when people purchase gift cards at retail outlets, including the Apple Store itself, and the money is gone before the customer even reaches home. Thankfully, I am not responsible for the $500. She provided me a case number to provide my bank for the credit card dispute.

The other lesson I learned is that having safeguards around your credit card account such as spending limits and disallowing new credit cards to be opened in your name without you calling in are necessary. Every security setting possible on each bank or investment account is a must, too. And changing passwords frequently helps to secure accounts. When traveling, always letting the credit card company know where you and for how long is also a good safeguard.

So, when it comes to being scammed, I have compassion for people who get sucked into a bunch of false claims. Liars and marketers hone their skills to overcome your objections. They fabricate credentials and narratives that seem plausible. And people who are ripe to be deceived because of their underlying fears of being hacked, robbed, or taken over by communism and socialism or minorities are inclined to buy into the lies. It’s frightening to hear that 75 percent of Trump voters believe the election was fraudulent. This fears made it possible for once respected former major and attorney Rudy Giuliani to boldly stand in front of the entire nation this past week and make a boatload of false and completely unsubstantiated claims about the presidential election. I’m hopeful that those individuals will come to their senses (as I did) as they digest the truth as court cases are thrown out and election officials keep expose the false claims.

I’m actually nervous and a bit sad today to realize that what I learned in that marketing class so many years ago is more true today than it was back in the 1970’s: ” Let the buyer beware”. There are plenty of corrupt and depraved individuals out there actively trying to steal our money and now we have a president name Donald Trump and his team actively trying to steal our democracy. Beware!

My husband is recovering from his second bout of cancer. This time he is recovering from lung cancer wherein a section of his upper right lung was removed. He is back in the hospital for the third time since his surgery because of an infection this time. The prognosis is good and I’m thankful that we paid attention to the danger signs, sought help, and listened to the medical professionals. We didn’t engage in wishful thinking, denying the symptoms that indicated the existence of a problem. We recognized a problem and chose to follow the advice of the medical experts. It came down to trust. While medical professionals don’t know everything, they certainly know more we do when it comes to the treating the human body. We trust them to do the things they have been trained to do to our benefit. And just because their outcomes are not 100% positive does not mean that we shouldn’t place his treatment in their hands. The same is true in this country when it comes to COVID-19 and elections.

What we have in this country today is an epidemic of mistrust in credible sources in government, science, and journalism. It is frightening to realize that many people have stopped listening to knowledgeable voices in favor of following their own mythical beliefs, conspiracy theories, fabrications, and fake news. When did educated, experienced public servants become the enemy of the people? When did Democrats become the only people willing and capable of casting fraudulent votes? Recent history has shown us that Republicans are more likely to suppress the vote, cheat, and intimidate voters in the opposing party when it comes to elections. So, why is it that every Trump supporter who claims that they saw a few ballots in the trash automatically assume they were votes for Trump? Or why do they assume that all the “dead” people who voted, voted for Biden? Why do they refuse to acknowledge the fact that election officials are from both parties and that poll watchers were also from both parties? Why won’t they be reasonable and acknowledge that there aren’t nearly enough “fraudulent” votes out there to overturn the election results? Why would they insist upon overturning the will of the majority? Biden won by over 5 million votes in the popular vote. And his margin of votes in battleground states is high enough that a recount won’t change the results. Why would they want the Supreme Court to disenfranchise voters who followed the election laws in their state and wisely chose to vote by mail during a pandemic? And why did they take to the streets yesterday and the to airways on C-Spann this morning screaming that the election was stolen?

I’d say it is because many lack basic critical thinking skills, knowledge of civics, and common sense. I’d say that when we as educators let our guard down too soon after the Holocaust and stop teaching junior high and high school students how to know the difference between truth backed by factual data and emotion driven propaganda.

When we failed to teach critical thinking skills at the high school level, we paved the way for conservative talk radio hosts with a profit motive to lead many non-college educated Americans astray. And then a charismatic and bombastic television celebrity grabs the biggest microphone in the world and begins repeating the lies about a “deep state” that is out to destroy the hard-working “true Americans” to usher in socialism or communism. And those who felt disrespected because of their lack of education, their loss of blue collar jobs, and feel under threat by people of color, immigrants, non-Christians, and LGBTQ folks preferred to believe it when Trump told them that he knew more than the generals, that immigrants were the problem, and that trusted journalist and news outlets were “fake news”. Trump, Fox News, and conservative talk radio ushered in a whole new era of “alternative” facts placing the voices of the actual experts into question. It’s obvious that there is a problem when your trusted source is a proven liar, draft and tax evader, sex offender, and business fraud. How is a person with this kind of character capable of “Making America Great Again”. Look at how great he has made the people around him?

It’s all so baffling. But then I watched the Netflix dramatized documentary, “The Social Dilemma” this past week and it helped me further understand how we have become so divided and how misinformation has so infected our public discourse to the point that we can hardly even talk to each other. My posts on Facebook or Instagram are only seen by people who agree with me. I don’t see the posts on Facebook or Instagram or Tic Tok of Trump supporters. I only see what Trump supporters are thinking when I watch CNN or C-Spann. I starting following some Republican senators on Twitter to hear what they were saying. And when I listen to them, I scratch my head in dismay. But now I know why they think the way they do. The senators are afraid of Trump because his followers, like me, are trapped in the social media algorithm. Recognizing this, I’ve been asking my friends with more mixed friends to share some of my posts in hopes of expanding a different viewpoint. Many of them say they are afraid to do that for fear of backlash from their Trump supporter friends and relatives. And there seems to be a friendship and family purge going on as well which is all the more scary.

When rational human beings are operating from a different set of facts they wiIl naturally draw different conclusions about the best course of action. Because their news source and these social media platforms and search engines have algorithms built to show more of what the user seems to like or be interested in, the user enters into a bubble where her likes and thoughts and ideas become reinforced rather than challenged or even expanded. It was scary to watch “The Social Dilemma”, but it helped me understand how people get sucked into believing that vaccines are dangerous, that Democrats are socialists who want to take away freedom, or that Hillary Clinton was running a pedophile ring out of a pizza parlor. It is how largely peaceful protests are characterized as violent mobs in need of military intervention. It is how Trump supporters truly believe that the election was stolen.

As an educator, I call upon other educators and parents to return to teaching our next generation how to consume information. We have to teach students what credible sources actually are and how journalism and science actually work. We have to teach the difference between truth that is backed by factual evidence and mere opinion. We have to teach that not every assertion made by a loud individual is a fact and that there are immoral people who lie for profit or personal gain. We have to teach them to dismiss the person who claims to be “in the know” but has no credible evidence to back up their claims. And most of all, we have to be willing to teach the unhappy truth that propaganda can have life and death consequences. There is a way out of the misinformation trap we have found ourselves in. And that road is a rejection of algorithms that trap us in a bubble and the education of our children.

I was hoping for, and even expecting, a decisive victory for Biden and a flip of the Senate as an indictment on the past four years under Donald Trump and the blatant hypocrisy of the Senate. But that wasn’t what happened. This has been a nail biter, causing anxiety and anger across the nation. No one is happy and we still face a runoff for the Senate seats in Georgia that will determine the majority. Trump supporters are crying foul and threatening violence while Biden supporters are shaking their heads in dismay. It is clear to me that we are living in a nation divided. And not all that division is based on reality, but baseless Trump rhetoric. After listening to different voices, I realize that not many people actually like Trump as a person. Most acknowledge that he is not a decent or even moral human being. But he and his policies stand for a way of life in America that his supporters want to protect.

I must first confess that I live in a progressive bubble. I work among academics who are largely liberal. I socialize among college-educated progressives. My family members are educated, liberal, and largely Christian. Because of the algorithms built into social media platforms, my social media “friends” are largely progressives, too. I avoid conservative media like Fox News and conservative radio talk shows. The only time I really hear conservative voices is on CNN and C-Span. Even in those rare moments, I wonder how people could view the world so differently from me. My mouth falls open in dismay when I hear people repeat the baseless falsehoods by Trump as if they were the complete rational truth. We know that they, too, live in a bubble where the lies are reinforced from every direction. So, they probably look at me with the same level of dismay.

I’ve also come to realize is that Trump supporters are terrified of change. They are afraid of diversity and inclusion because it means embracing differences and sharing power. If there is too much difference, they are afraid that their values, their traditions, their jobs, their decisions, their religion, and their privilege will all be challenged. They are afraid that they will no longer be able to force their will and their ways on others. They are afraid that they will be held accountable for their discrimination against women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ people. They like their jobs in oil and coal because they have grown accustomed to these industries and are uncomfortable with the notion of having to learn new skills. So, they willingly deny the science behind climate change based on a combination of their religion and their ignorance of science. They feel threatened by the thought that they’re losing jobs to people from other parts of the world, so they shut down trade deals and immigration. They are afraid of the kind of democratic socialism that will actually improve their lives because they literally lack the intellectual curiosity to learn about it. They think are told to think of Cuba and Venezuela instead of Canada or Finland when they consider democratic socialism that will provide them with affordable healthcare and higher education.

Trump voters simply do not want to change. They are stuck in the comfort and simplicity of the past where sex was only male or female, where men were in charge, where marriage was only between a man and a woman, and where minorities were discriminated against so that they could have an advantage in just about every facet of American life. They are stuck in the notion that sexual harassment, unwanted pregnancies, and even rape are the responsibility of wanton females because “men are just being men”. Donald Trump represents the ability cling to this kind of past. Many of his supporters say it is about being “pro-life” but I doubt it because they have willingly and knowingly thrown away the lives of Americans by refusing to wear masks in public, by allowing babies to be separated from their parents, and by allowing millions to die because they can’t afford healthcare. So, no, it’s not about abortion and being pro-life. Any Trump supporter who tells you this is lying to themselves and to you. It’s about their emotionally driven fear of losing power and privilege afforded to straight white people. They feel threatened and were willing to stand behind a totalitarian bully who promised to defend them.

Now that we have finally thrown the fear-monger in chief out of our White House, we have work to do to first secure a majority in the Senate and second, to bring these people along both intellectually and emotionally. At the moment, they are fearful and furious and itching for a fight. But Jesus gave us the answer. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let’s be good to our neighbors, especially those who supported Trump. Let’s prove by our words and actions that inclusion is better than exclusion. Let’s prove that clean water and air and clean jobs are better than pollution. Let’s prove that good public health policies and expanded healthcare benefits us all. Let’s prove that economic growth lies in the expansion of health, education, and welfare and not in denying immigration, good education, and food stamps to poor people. Let’s prove that voter suppression and intimidation have no place in the U.S. and that reasonable visions and arguments should win the vote.

It won’t be easy, but I’m convinced that we can succeed if we take the same level of energy, creativity, and funding from this election and funnel them into winning the senate and then into campaign to win the hearts and minds of half the country based on legitimate science, compassion, reason, information, and evidence. All those red states that voted overwhelmingly for Trump need to be the target of campaigns for inclusion, public health, American history, government, patriotism, and climate science.

If we don’t start winning the hearts and minds of Trump Americans, we’re likely to find ourselves in the same awful place in four short years.