Denying truth leads to violence
What happened yesterday was a disgrace...here’s my case
This post will be slightly different. I was somewhat distracted yesterday for obvious reasons and will likely have a more complete post on Monday. But today I have several small observations and links to several things I read and heard last night, mostly from Republicans, that are worth reading.
#1-You can not repeat lies without consequences. One of the best things ever written is an essay by Czech dissident and former president Vaclav Havel. The essay, the “Power of the Powerless”, discusses how simple lies that people in Communist Czechoslovakia told just to get by, helped create the order the party wanted and inflicted a psychological cost on the people repeating the lies. The example he uses is of a grocer putting a “Workers of the World Unite” sign in his window so that he will be left alone by authorities and get by with his life. The “power” that the “powerless” have is to simply tell the truth. Continuing to knowingly lie results in negative consequences for society whereas the truth leads to a rightly ordered society. If you have never read Havel’s essay take the time to read it. It has greater applications beyond politics.
#2-In her essay “Lying in Politics”, Hannah Arendt, discusses how lies help us create a new world in our imaginations that allows action. Looking at the videos below you see that play out. This article by Yuval Levin discusses Trump’s denial of reality.
#3-The claim that the rioters yesterday were really Antifa in disguise is demonstrably false but has still been repeated online. Watch this video and listen to the people inside the Capitol. The people in the video are obviously Trump supporters and obviously believe that they can overturn the election.
#4-As I wrote on Monday, folks like Hawley and Cruz who repeat electoral fraud lies for political gain are cynically manipulating voters and the result of that cynical manipulation is the violence that took place yesterday.
#5-Hawley and Cruz want a special 10 day audit. What do they expect will be found in 10 days that has not been found in 2 months?
#6-These videos from Tuesday and this one from last night demonstrate the attitude and actions that come along with denying truth and character.
#7-I was in Russia during the 2000 election and experienced first hand the glee that many in Russia had that the U.S. “couldn’t even run their own elections.” I have seen similar statements about what happened yesterday as well as statements from other countries that the U.S. usually issues about elections in other countries.
#8-Statements by Senators Cotton, Romney and Burr rightly place statements by Trump, Hawley and Cruz under scrutiny.
#9-Articles by Samuel James and Russell Moore, as well as a Twitter thread by Benjamin Watson point out the dangers of placing power and interest ahead of character.
#10-As a Christian I am saddened that so many fellow Christians have justified Trump’s character flaws by saying “we’re not electing a pastor but a president”. I fully agree with Moore and Watson that we should not be surprised that diminishing the importance of principles would lead us to this moment. It also makes me wonder why we think these values (honesty, decency, humility) are so important to instill in our kids but not to expect from our leaders.
#11-The lies repeated by Republicans also likely cost them the Senate, as the two Democratic candidates won the run-off elections. While there is still a lot to be determined, it appears that Republican turnout was lower than in November, which can likely be attributed to the conspiracy theories spread about electoral fraud.
Campaign Ad
This ad is kind of funny.