Truth and Democracy: The Dividing line in America today

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://medium.com/@mdowd_97828/truth-and-democracy-the-dividing-line-in-america-today-cfaad0aeaf75

We are emerging from a global pandemic with still more to be done on this and many other health issues, we are beginning to see light out of a dark economy with much remaining to be tended to, and climate change represents a world crisis that still is not solved, but the most important issue facing America is not any of these. Today, the gravest threat to our country and the globe is the attacks on our fragile and frayed democracy combined with a major segment of our citizens and leaders who no longer consider telling the truth a fundamental value.

This battle for our constitutional democratic republic and for truth is the most pivotal and crucial crisis facing America today. It is absolutely imperative that our leaders understand this, and focus their time and resources in a way that shows they know the issue of democracy and truth is the most important task to be done in this moment. We can solve the pandemic and have a humming growing economy, but still lose what so many have fought and many died for over the last two and half centuries.

Having task forces on the pandemic is great, and speaking about the health and economic concerns so many face today is important, but if we don’t get truth and our democracy in order than none of that will really matter for ourselves and our children and grandchildren. It is time we let go of the conservative vs progressive debate on issues — those terms have become quite meaningless and the differences seem insignificant compared to truth and democracy. The great dividing line in our country today is: on one side we have belief in a common set of facts, the common good, and a vibrant active expansive democracy, on the opposing side of this is the exact opposite. This is the most important fight in America today.

It is time to realize party labels and platforms are ludicrous if we lose our democracy and the ability to tell the truth and trust that facts matter. One political party, the GOP, has become an anti-truth, anti-democratic entity, and it is time we point that out clearly and strongly. It is not just a bug in the system of Republicans, it is a prominent required feature of the Republican Party. Thinking that a party overwhelmingly composed of these folks is not only being in denial, or delusional, it is also dangerous because it leads folks to believe that the party can be saved.

*snip*

[calimary]

1. Matthew Dowd.

If memory serves, one of the newly “awakened” Rs.

Even so, folks like him (“recovering” repubs or former repubs) are still responsible for having built this. As long as I live, I’ll hold them directly responsible how divided we are now, as a country.