Are Lies Running Rampant?

Pinocchio

     I decided that at a time when there is no imminent upcoming Election I could write a blog without it seeming to be about a particular person.  Unfortunately, there are a great many examples of political speakers that stray from the truth.

You may remember the evening a politician charged with bad behavior had rushed up to be in line to shake hands with important people.  Senator Mitt Romney was so offended by Representative Santos having crowded his way to the front in order to be able the reach out and shake hands with dignitaries passing by that Mitt called him out, saying "You do not belong here."  At that time, Santos was facing several investigations into campaign finance infractions. In the past, politicians would have been promptly removed by their own parties for far less wrongful things.  Why has that changed?

Sadly, it was Senator Romney, who had once been his party's nominee for President of the United States, who seemed to have felt out of step with his voters or his party, and he chose not to run again.

I chose this picture of Pinocchio because he was a naughty boy who told lies over and over.  The lesson of the story was that Pinocchio learned his lesson about lying and got to be real little boy.  The picture at the top of this blog seems more in keeping with today.  Pinocchio still has his big nose, obviously not having learned his lesson in order to become a real boy.  Yet people are rushing to shake his hand.     

    Today, integrity is often put aside.  Voters have grown to accept that politicians lie, even going so far as to accept that lying "is just a tool" or excusing liars by assuming that "all politicians lie."  In fact, if a politician is caught in a lie, their defense is often that "everyone does it."  Perhaps there have always been liars in politics, but the founding fathers would have been embarrassed by being caught in a lie.

    Today's politicians seem unable or unwilling to avert falsehoods, having done it for so long that it is just part of their speaking style.  Others know they are using falsehoods, but they choose to balance its effectiveness.  Will the lie gain more than adhering to the truth?

    Sadly, those who study truthfulness of those we elect have found that both sides lie.  Bill Adair, the founder of Polite Fact stated in his book, Beyond the Big Lie, that there was a concerning amount of dishonesty and exaggeration by both parties. Neither party can be entirely proud of their credibility record.  Research has found that when voters are shown that their candidate lies, they are displeased, but that does not necessarily reduce the voter's support or change their vote.

    All of this is hard for me to understand.  I realize that politicians need to be elected in order to serve the nation and telling voters what they do not want to hear may not get their vote, especially if their opposition is willing to lie to get the vote.  Have we voters forced candidates to lie, knowing that hearing the truth may not get them elected?

    Mitt Romney chose not to run again.  If we voters truly want candidates who protect and defend our precious constitution, we cannot elect those who do not hold the constitution a treasure admired by the rest of the world for generations.  We cannot believe that our little vote isn't important.  It is!  Candidates don't lie if they believe that voters dislike electing liars.  Apparently, our voting has taught them that lies work! 

      

      

A Freedom of the Press

Katherine Graham

 Freedom of the press has always been essential to making America work.  Information from more sources is essential to keep the news honest.  Unfortunately, today's freedom struggles to balance the accuracy of information with careless or intentional misinformation. 

This week's blog takes a look backward to a family story.  In 1933 Eugene Isaac Meyer bought the Washington Post.  He set seven principles for his newspaper:  Tell the truth, All the truth, Observe the decencies of the gentleman, Print what is fit reading for young as well as old, Remember that the newspaper's duty is to the readers and the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owner, Remember that in the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifice of its material fortunes, if such course be necessary for the public good, and The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men.

His daughter, Katharine, had an education and had worked at the newspaper before her marriage, but she had not intended to be particularly involved in the business after she married and had children.  Fate had different plans.  This blog is about those unexpected years specifically the difficult decisions she faced in making the decision to make public the Pentagon Papers, a three-thousand-page narrative history with a four-page appendix of documents...covering American involvement in Indochina from the Second World War to May of 1968, when peace talks on the Vietnam War began in Paris.  How it got into her hands is too long of a story to tell, but it came without any impropriety by her newspaper.

She proceeded professionally, consulting others in her staff and consulting lawyers, but ultimately, she published.  It was the importance of the freedom of the press and the duty to inform the public that lead her decision.  As I read from her biography, I could not help but think of the words written by her father, words which must have been important to her, especially since she included her father's words in full when she wrote her autobiography. 

Her decision to publish the Pentagon Papers may or may not have been as significant in itself as expected, but it elevated her newspaper, as well as Katharine herself, something that impacted the publishing of Watergate.  She wrote, "The role of the Post in all of this was simply to report the news.  We set out to pursue a story that unfolded before our eyes in ways that made us as incredulous as the rest of the public

It is interesting to look back at the principles of her father in 1933 and consider whether the decisions of his daughter's own times followed his priorities.  It is also interesting to consider our current Freedom of the Press and consider the news we receive today.  Can Eugene Isaac Meyer's principles still be applied to the news of today?

In her book, "Personal History" she also wrote, "Indeed, publishing the Pentagon Papers made future decisions easier, even possible.  Most of all it prepared us, and I suspect, unfortunately, Nixon as well--for Watergate."     

Does It Impact Me?

The Gerrymander 

 Some time ago I posted a blog on gerrymandering, primarily sharing the history.  This blog addresses the challenges and impacts of gerrymandering.  At that time, the abuse of gerrymandering was particularly to disenfranchise Black voters.  However, historically and currently there are other examples of Gerrymandering.  

First of all, establishing precincts with a sincere intent to allow all voters to feel their vote has made a difference is not always easy. If votes of the entire state were simply dumped into one big basket, minorities would feel that their votes would not matter,  the election being winner take all.  However, redistricting with a specific intention to allow minorities of any particular race, religion, or other group likely to vote differently from the majority would leave those ignored voters for the more popular candidate feeling cheated.  About any way you go about trying to treat voters fairly has difficulties.  So, the way to begin this blog is to accept that perhaps the ability to allow everyone to feel that their vote matters is impossible.  It is easier to recognize the wrongful gerrymandering than it is to create a perfect means for all voters who vote. 

History for generations provided examples of gerrymandering being used to disenfranchise minorities, and use of the term generally refers to unfair or dishonest manipulation of  voting districts.  However,  positive efforts to treat all voters fairly can also produce some odd looking shapes.  The shape is not what defines whether a district is fair or unfair to voters.      

Americans have taken pride in the right to vote for generations, and if voters are in the majority, they may never have thought about how disenfranchised minority voters must feel.  It is important for all Americans to want the elections to be as fair as possible, without destroying ballots and scheduling voting hours at inconvenient times or in distant locations, or forcing people to stand in long lines moving slowly, taking hours to vote. Those unfair and un-American stunts are obvious.  Rather, we should want to make all voters feel that their votes matter.  

Traditionally, voting maps are adjusted after census years, because that allows adjustments consistent with the current population.  In general, those adjustments last from census to census.  Unless some significant event occurs there will be no voting districts moved or added.  Therefore, when a state deviates from those traditions it draws attention.  Such has been the case recently in Texas.  

Such interference has happened before.  In fact, in 1812 in Massachusetts the name gerrymandering was applied to a Governor's attempt to sign a bill to redraw State Senate districts to his benefit.  So, here we are.  What's old is often new again, perhaps especially in political tricks.  What is also common is that once tried, others may follow.

I warned at the start of this blog that you might not find answers, but we can keep our eyes open to recognize misuse and abuse of the law and the norms.  We can appeal to those capable of acting appropriately.  And, we do not have to allow our state to act wrongfully just because others do.  

Our responsibility can remain to find ways in our state to make the votes of everyone important, and to respect that right even when we may disagree.  Intentionally attempting to disrupt the votes of citizens is an assault on all of us.

Are We Looking for a New Planet

 I confess that I place taking better care of our planet on a higher level than many people do...maybe more than most.  I think that it is a big deal that "after several months of record-breaking temperatures, the hottest ever summer, and the hottest day on record 2024 was recently confirmed as the hottest year in history, with the global average temperature 0.12C above 2023, the previous warmest calendar year on record." (Source Earth - Org.)  

The world annual Global Risk Report of the World Economic Forum named 3 key climate risks as top global challenges: Extreme weather events, Critical changes to Earth systems, and Biodiversity loss.  The importance to such changes is that when something happens to one thing, it impacts others.  For example, temperature change alters water temperatures, Coral reefs die, and the barrier to extreme weather from coastal storms causes storm surges.

The point is that you may not live where these changes are happening, but the changes caused elsewhere can cause a ripple effect that will ultimately reach you.  Thinking, "thank goodness that has nothing to do with me" may overlook the potential ripple effect.  For example, increased emissions of greenhouse gasses have impacted global temperatures, causing fires from Australia to the U.S.

Plant a garden.

Some of the impacts are things you might never associate with changes, such as the decline of population sizes of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.  Deforestation, cut down to raise cattle, cause environmental problems, such as landslides and soil erosion.  The temperature changes cause ice melting, causing sea level rise, as well as temperature changes in the ocean.  Human activities are said to have degraded about 40% of the planet's soil. 

The title I chose was only intended as a small joke, comparing the money we are spending on space travel.  Maybe someday future generation will travel in space and settle a different planet, but for now, I think it is important to take better care of our planet.  

There are reasons I am concerned.  I fear that the protection America has given to National Parks will not be respected by those intended to protect them for future generations.

I fear overpopulation will ask more than the planet can provide.  I fear we are careless about waste.  A decade ago people were talking about recycling, but I do not see as much attention given to recycling today.  These things are not so relevant for me, as I have gray hair now.  But it is relevant to those I love.

How can we make a difference?  We can reduce single use plastics.  We can conserve energy at home, recycle, and compost.  Sometimes, we can carpool.  We can politely encourage others to find ways to make the planet more sustainable.  We can encourage their congress persons to make decisions that respect the planet.  And, young people, who have the most to lose, can politely suggest to their elders that they would appreciate our help too in respecting our planet.