Political lies have a major advantage over neighborhood gossip. They speak to a larger audience, whose members are more likely to accept and believe whatever their leader says.
This sort of favoritism is what leads to government dictatorship, where those who disagree are arrested, tormented, imprisoned and even killed only because they think differently.
But the way one thinks is not the crime. It is the conclusion a person draws that portrays any opposition as evil.
This has happened many times in the past, in other nations. The issue today is whether this conflict is happening in America, a nation founded on equality.
Increasingly, observers are exposing examples that show the trend. But rather than be taken seriously, these warnings are mocked by ultra-conservative "true believers." They refuse to listen to any evidence that indicates fault in their beloved leader, and they dismiss such evidence as "fake news."
But what if it's not fake?
What if it's true, and provably true?
The problem then becomes one of trust.
Or to quote the Marx Brothers, "Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"
America is nearing the end of an election season, and voters will soon choose which set of would-be leaders to endorse.
International observers have been saying for many weeks that the nation may be nearing the end of its democratic republic.
Note: The nation's founders used the two words interchangeably, and could just as easily have used the term republican democracy. Originally, democracy meant everyone participates in government decisions. That was possible in ancient Greece cities, but is not possible in larger populations, so the term "republic" is used, indicating that a few are elected to represent the general public. In earlier years, one of America's major political parties used both terms in its label.
Whether American citizens vote for leaders to represent all or for those who represent a chosen few -- and they get to choose which few -- will be known soon. More important to America's future is which path its leaders choose.
This sort of favoritism is what leads to government dictatorship, where those who disagree are arrested, tormented, imprisoned and even killed only because they think differently.
But the way one thinks is not the crime. It is the conclusion a person draws that portrays any opposition as evil.
This has happened many times in the past, in other nations. The issue today is whether this conflict is happening in America, a nation founded on equality.
Increasingly, observers are exposing examples that show the trend. But rather than be taken seriously, these warnings are mocked by ultra-conservative "true believers." They refuse to listen to any evidence that indicates fault in their beloved leader, and they dismiss such evidence as "fake news."
But what if it's not fake?
What if it's true, and provably true?
The problem then becomes one of trust.
Or to quote the Marx Brothers, "Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"
America is nearing the end of an election season, and voters will soon choose which set of would-be leaders to endorse.
International observers have been saying for many weeks that the nation may be nearing the end of its democratic republic.
Note: The nation's founders used the two words interchangeably, and could just as easily have used the term republican democracy. Originally, democracy meant everyone participates in government decisions. That was possible in ancient Greece cities, but is not possible in larger populations, so the term "republic" is used, indicating that a few are elected to represent the general public. In earlier years, one of America's major political parties used both terms in its label.
Whether American citizens vote for leaders to represent all or for those who represent a chosen few -- and they get to choose which few -- will be known soon. More important to America's future is which path its leaders choose.
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