Trumped! The Purpose of His Lies
Where falsehoods reign, power overwhelms truth.
On the verge of 2017:
The President-elect, Donald Trump, strenuously seeks to cause confusion and undermine our basis to judge reality. His lies are not random utterances as they appear. His tweets make him the center of attention, attempting to become the arbiter of truth. His next pronouncement becomes the focus of debate and shifts public discussion to defense or rejection of his fabrication. Witness his assertion of massive illegal voting to benefit Hillary Clinton after he assiduously claimed that the election was rigged against him. Neither had any factual underpinnings or logical basis except for the public's willingness to pay attention and take the statements seriously.
The Trump camp has attempted to assert we have entered a post-fact age. http://jezebel.com/trump-surrogate-theres-no-such-thing-as-…
This is not some Nietzschean relativistic interpretation of reality. Nietzsche argued that because all reality is perceived by a particular mind, all facts are subjective. But, subjective human minds with individual volition can agree on criteria for truth. We can agree on facts, even if we differ on their interpretations and meaning. You are reading this and that is a fact. It's an event that is occurring, which we can all acknowledge as true, a fact. Your interpretations of what you read will vary according to your personal criteria, but the fact is that you are reading. There is no factual basis to the contention that millions of illegal votes went to Hillary Clinton. There are agreed upon means by which we establish facts in a society, and Trump's assertion meets none of them. He lied in order to establish himself as the person who determines reality for us all. But he must be stopped.
So what is Trump's goal? In a society where people are constantly confused, cannot discern fact or agree upon values, political power may overcome logic as a decision making method. Confused people who do not possess a value system can be easily led, and that's the process we are in. What can we do to stop this insanity?
1. Trump made promises that garnered him votes and which he will not keep. He must be publicly and boisterously held to to his promises. 2. Protect your neighbors! We know we value freedom. Speak out when innocent people are attacked in your community, like immigrants or Muslims who have committed no crimes. Do not indulge your prejudices! Times are too dangerous. Ask yourself: what proof do I have that this person or community is actually guilty of some crime and deserves my condemnation. Without that, we must protect the innocent. Stay attached to events and be involved. 3. Form alliances with those who are victims of Trump's hatred when they are attacked: i.e. - The Jews of Whitefish, Montana; and those who may lose their health insurance for instance.
But most of all: we cannot allow Trump and his minions to determine what is real, or substitute their values for our long cherished commitments. The poor deserve our concern. They are not guilty and did not choose their poverty. Bad choices along life's path, if they were made, should not condemn people to a life of misery in a society as wealthy as the U.S. Do not be fooled by those who embrace hate to empower themselves, and be certain of your faith in raising the spirits of victims. These are the cherished values that the prophets expressed and with which we became successful as a nation: "What is it that the Lord requires of you? Only to do JUSTLY, to love MERCY, and to walk HUMBLY with our God." Be steadfast. Standing together, we cannot be broken.
A happy and successful year to us all!
