Character, truth most important electoral issues of 2024

And perhaps at the top of most people’s complaints is the tendency to spread lies. If one votes believing fallacies, conspiracy theories and outright lies, there would be a general belief that the vote was cast in error. There would also be a tendency to believe that the individual or groups spreading these proven falsehoods do so out of ignorance or, worse, do so out of a deliberate effort to mislead others.

To make matters worse, the spread of false information continues despite warnings in all forms of communication (print, video, television and social media) to check information before passing it on to others. Fact-checking has even become necessary when listening to nominees for the highest office in the land.

Yet time and time again, falsehoods are promoted and those who see and hear these elements either perceive them to be false and fact-check them or, more often, fall for them hook, line and hook. information lead and then pass it on to others.

A prime example of this problem is the overwhelming number of individuals and groups posting, especially on social media, that because the “current administration” has disbursed so much funds to support a massive number of undocumented aliens, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has no funds. to help US citizens deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Milton’s recent brutal wind, rain and storm surge in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina. FEMA staff and indeed the governors of states affected by the hurricane have denounced the funding rumor as blatantly false, but individuals continue to spread the falsehood to others. Are they so caught up in their own political beliefs that they think chasing fallacies to prove a point and win an election is more important than seeking the truth?

Another example of promoting fallacies is the twist of an electoral proposal to tax unrealized capital gains. Numerous publications warn that this means that the gain in value of a person’s residence would be taxed and “even your aging mother’s house would be subject to this tax.” In fact, the proposal, which would have little chance of passing Congress, is intended to potentially tax only individuals with wealth above $100 million.

Fact-checking can easily expose false information, such as: Tim Walz’s claim that he was in China for the Tiananmen Square uprising; Kamala Harris’ claim that she has made it clear for years that she supported fracking; JD Vance’s claim of Haitians in Springfield, Ohio eating neighbors’ pets; or Donald Trump’s claim that every new job created in the last two years went to illegal aliens; and finally the claim that Democrats control the weather and were responsible for the hurricanes that hit Florida.

When considering the disproved belief that the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol in Washington, DC was just a group of tourists looking at the US government headquarters despite the actual photograph of hundreds of individuals scaling walls , breaking through crowd barriers, beating Capitol Police, breaking windows and calling for the hanging of then-Vice President Pence and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, you have to admit that we are a crazy country.

Truth and logic have left the building.

Political differences are one thing; they are necessary in a true democracy. If, however, one way of thinking politically is to blatantly silence opposing thought or promote false truths, there can be no democracy. This is a dictatorship. And if politicians of any persuasion are in power because of deceit, falsehood and outright lying, there is no real democracy. For those who believe in truth and character, human history clearly demonstrates that the loss of truth and character results in the ultimate destruction of freedom.

If Americans lose track of the need for good character, truth, respect, civility, logic, fairness, and justice, they stand to lose much more than an election. It seems that the most important issue in the upcoming elections is that of trust.

In a U.S. presidential election in which the new president swears to “preserve, protect, and defend” the U.S. Constitution, voters must vote for the candidate they trust most to conduct the business of the nation with honesty and good character. higher office in our country. Given the recent Supreme Court ruling that ostensibly expands immunity for most presidential actions, the truth and character of the incoming president, as well as those who support him, become even more critical.