“The post-truth playbook goes like this: attack the truth-tellers, lie about anything and everything, manufacture disinformation, encourage distrust and polarization, create confusion and cynicism… The goal is not merely to get people to believe in a particular false claim but to so demoralize them with a tsunami of falsehoods that they begin to give up the idea that truth can be known at all...”
Lee McIntyre, author of Dark Ages and Post Truth.
Honestly, friend, there were so many things I wanted to write about before wading into the 2020 election. But given that we’re pivoting ever so slightly – from reaching across the political divide to searching for #truthgroundzero – I haven’t left myself much choice, have I? The question of whether or not the election was stolen is, arguably, the fault line when it comes to post-truth America.
Ground zero.
Though most Americans do not believe the election was stolen, many do. I’m assuming you’re one of them (or at least that you think it’s a real possibility). You know me well enough by now to understand that I respect your views, whatever they are.
As you know, I do not believe the election was stolen. So. I will argue my case, and you will either agree with my findings or you won’t. Weirdly, in some ways, this is not the point. I will write the letter, and you will read it. We will push hard into the evidence and we will have the hard conversations. In so doing, we will stubbornly refuse to let the truth slayers win - those who, with the help of bots, online trolls, and intolerant extremists, have succeeded in poisoning the political water such that a huge segment of the American public has decided politics is so toxic it must be avoided altogether. Save for the yelling spaces, dialogue, and debate have ceased, which, in our fragile democracy, is a recipe for disaster. (I will say that since that wholly disastrous debate and the Supreme Court's immunity decision, the political space has perked up considerably. GOOD. May the people's debate begin!)
As for you and me, we'll just be over here writing and reading about the most important issues of our day, kindly and reasonably, thereby kicking off our own kind of revolution. Truly, reaching across the Divide with kindness and civility is a revolutionary act in today’s age. With a reminder that this Letters Project is not merely a feel-good exercise (what would be the point?) I say, let the Festive Revolution begin.
I'm busy writing to you about the 2020 election now. I’ll make my case in a way that is, I hope, both thorough and concise. I trust you enough to know that you will not believe anything I say at face value. I know that you will do your own research and come to your own conclusions.
Truth is on the ballot in November 2024. The truth must win.
More soon,
Sara
Do you have real values or do you merely parrot what the news actors tell you?
In retrospect, this sounds more rude than I intended. My apologies.
What will you do when Trump wins in 2024 and your people claim that the election has been stolen? Like Hillary did in 2016 Like Gore did in 2000? Do you have real values or do you merely parrot what the news actors tell you?