The slogan is fantastic, in every sense of the word. It generates feelings of nostalgia for the good times that have passed us by. It generates feelings of resentment that those times are now gone. But it also generates feelings of hope that the nostalgia we all dream of will one day return. Or does it?
First of all, if you can actually tell me how Donald Trump will accomplish any of his goals, I am all ears. I have yet to hear an answer to any “how” question asked of Mr. Trump… or his supporters, for that matter. The vague and ambiguous strategy worked. Placating to the lowest common denominator worked. It’s truly remarkable how skilled Mr. Trump is at avoiding and deflecting. But this will cause a problem for him when he is unable to generate traction on any of the radical proposals of his campaign.
Mr. Trump looks like an elementary school child compared to… well… anyone who graduated elementary school. I’m not one to disparage others just for fun. But, it is my belief we should hold each other to a high standard. That includes presidents. That especially includes presidents!
The fact that so many of us are content with not only Mr. Trump, but many politicians on both sides of the aisle, feeding us lines and not questioning them is simply astounding. Would you believe everything you read online? Certainly not. Why would you believe everything a politician says? Well, unless you’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid.
I was recently having a discussion with family. What better time than the holidays to argue with loved ones over politics? I would like to think when I argue with my family, they’re taking hardline stances in an effort to disagree with me instead of believing what they say. Recently, however, I’m not so sure.
Did you know the pictures of Secretary Clinton in the woods were fake? Did you know she actually lost the popular vote? Did you know it’s a Democratic lie that Russia hacked the election?
These are actual statements heard from family recently. Where did they receive this information? Facebook and reputable news sources like Breitbart, the Boston Tribune and, of course, Fox.
When I responded that none of those statements were true by citing actual and reputable news organizations like The Guardian, the rebuttal to that was that it’s just the liberal media not reporting facts. Apparently, when you don’t want to believe something today, you can discount it as simply not being true. We now live in a world you don’t need to have a counterargument. You simply need to say: “not true.” That’s it. That’s where the level of debate in this country has fallen.
Could we, please, Make America Smart Again? Is that too much to ask? I’m not suggesting we take what we read online as gospel; I have never made that suggestion. What I am suggesting is that there are legitimate news sources and illegitimate news sources. Knowing the difference is the mark of an informed and intelligent society.
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