Belief without thought endangers freedom.
That has been the opening motto of these essays for several years. But when we apply that guideline to current events in America and the devoted followers of Donald Trump, the motto becomes a warning.
His followers believe everything he says, regardless of any repeated contradictions and continuing exposure of his falsehoods in the mainstream media. That's easy enough to explain, since many of his devoted followers ignore any outlets that carry information contradicting what their hero proclaims.
(News media today reported that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "deliberately misled" Parliament about parties he held at 10 Downing Street during the COVID crisis. Or, in plain language, he lied.)
In America, devoted followers of Donald Trump believe him and only him, without listening to anything said by neutral news media, much less anything said by his opponents. And as to the collection of contradictory explanations of his activities about documents found at his private home after he left office, it's one thing to claim he inadvertently misspoke, and quite another to cite evidence that he lied.
Meanwhile, as lawsuits against him grow in number, so do his efforts to raise funds from his loyal supporters to fight the allegations and court challenges.
This raises a question from our resident cynic: Where does that money go? Into the legal campaign or into his pocket? Already, there is a documented history of him using campaign donations for personal expenses, and not accurately documenting income and expenses.
So the question comes down to this: Do you trust a proven liar or independent news media that base its reputation of reporting provable facts?
That has been the opening motto of these essays for several years. But when we apply that guideline to current events in America and the devoted followers of Donald Trump, the motto becomes a warning.
His followers believe everything he says, regardless of any repeated contradictions and continuing exposure of his falsehoods in the mainstream media. That's easy enough to explain, since many of his devoted followers ignore any outlets that carry information contradicting what their hero proclaims.
(News media today reported that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "deliberately misled" Parliament about parties he held at 10 Downing Street during the COVID crisis. Or, in plain language, he lied.)
In America, devoted followers of Donald Trump believe him and only him, without listening to anything said by neutral news media, much less anything said by his opponents. And as to the collection of contradictory explanations of his activities about documents found at his private home after he left office, it's one thing to claim he inadvertently misspoke, and quite another to cite evidence that he lied.
Meanwhile, as lawsuits against him grow in number, so do his efforts to raise funds from his loyal supporters to fight the allegations and court challenges.
This raises a question from our resident cynic: Where does that money go? Into the legal campaign or into his pocket? Already, there is a documented history of him using campaign donations for personal expenses, and not accurately documenting income and expenses.
So the question comes down to this: Do you trust a proven liar or independent news media that base its reputation of reporting provable facts?
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