"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to remain silent"
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of conscience to remain silent."
Edmund Burke
A Stalwart Beacon
I've tried not to be too political in this blog - though as a very politically minded person, that has been very hard to do. I've tried to focus on art, poetry, philosophy, self-awareness and avoid antagonizing my readers or polarizing people any more than they already are. But we've entered into another political election cycle and I just cannot be silent. Too much is at stake.
"Money talks" and as the Supreme Court has ruled, corporate money is a form of political speech that cannot be limited. So these days money talks loudly - louder than the little guys on the other side of the political spectrum who can't buy television time or governors or congressmen with their $100 contributions. But the Koch Brothers and others of their ilk can buy just about anything - their money has bought and paid for Tea Party candidates, the governors and legislatures of too many states, Congressmen and women of both parties who will vote for corporate tax breaks, XL pipelines, fracking, the auctioning off of public parks and recreation areas, cutting food stamps and an end to Medicare and Social Security among other things.
Last week, John McCain and Lindsay Graham appeared on virtually every weekend talk show and, of course, were all over Fox News, expounding the ridiculous notion that President Obama should have stayed in Iraq and now should go back in with troops (not advisors) to finish what he failed to do. Hardly a single journalist called McCain on his statements - no one mentioned directly to him that it was George W. Bush who had negotiated the timeline for our withdrawal from Iraq and that the Iraqi government not so politely insisted that we go. No one reminded John McCain that he was among the first to vote for a war based on lies to begin with and he supported Bush's withdrawal timeline.
And yet, the propaganda drumbeat gets louder and louder that it is the poor who are to blame for the nation's ills, the immigrant children, or a president who has been prevented at virtually every turn from accomplishing anything he set out to do. Daily Rupert Murdoch's "news" crew beats the anti-Obama drum - against medical care, over Benghazi, for fracking, blaming the president for wildfires, the civil war in Iraq - you name it. But there was an almost deafening silence when the House Intelligence Committee (chaired by a Republican and dominated by that party) reported no administrative wrong-doing in Benghazi. This same propaganda machine forgot to mention as they hyped the lawsuit John Boehner brought against the President that they were suing Obama for not doing what they fought 57 times to prevent him from doing - implementing every aspect of the Affordable Care Act. You heard right - they are suing him for NOT implementing a bill they tried 57 times to overturn.
So how is it that these lies, distortions, obstructions and outright unconstitutional behaviors have become the "truth" that a majority of Americans hear on the airwaves every night whether they watch Fox News or not? I have a theory - and that is that the more wrong, the more deceptive, the more distorted the political harangue is, the louder it gets and the more often it is repeated. Lies are quickly perceived as truth if they are repeated often enough and by people who are recognizable as so-called experts in the field. Note how often a certain phrase will be repeated by every single commentator on certain networks - it's as if the editorial board hands out flash cards at the morning meeting with instructions to get that phrase into every broadcast as often as possible. Yesterday, the catch phrase was "cigar store robber" in reference to the young man shot to death in Ferguson, MO. While it may well be that Michael Brown had robbed a convenience store of some cigars a few minutes before his death, the officer who stopped him and ultimately shot him did not do so in relation to the robbery. Even the chief of police admits that - the officer stopped him for walking in the street. How often will you see that "truth" on Fox News? Whether Mr. Brown robbed the store or not, all you will see from this point on is a carefully orchestrated character assassination to justify a completely unjustified shooting. Last I heard, stealing cigars was not a death penalty offense.
But that can't be the only reason that lies, distortions and propaganda have taken over our political dialogue or our newscasts. Actually, it's our own fault. We have become lazy and apathetic. Critical thinking is no longer required in school or in life. Opinions are treated as fact and seldom double-checked unless it's to refute an opposing view on Facebook. Most importantly, we think there is little we can do to offset the power of big money or to set the record straight about their agenda. And so we choose silence - and we rationalize that as avoiding the negatives or confrontations in our lives. I did it myself - purposely refrained from using my voice to support the truth as I find it, to oppose the lies and distortions, to fight against the many injustices and environmental disasters conservative big money is willing to perpetrate against us all for the sake of greed.
Listen to this brilliant young teacher explain what he teaches about the value of truth in his classroom. Please be patient while this loads - I promise that it's worth the wait.
Clint Smith - poet/teacher
