Our imperative: real information sharing
Share the words and deeds of the far right. Share the accomplishments of the last four years of this administration. Let folks compare the two, and base their decision in November on facts.
As we learn more about the shooting at the former president’s rally this weekend, we must stand by our core value: violence is never the answer.
If you are a regular reader, you are likely already committed to voting to save democracy this November. So what else can and should we do between now and then?
I’m thinking about this a lot, as I grow increasingly frustrated with daily “breaking news” bulletins about who is ahead or behind in fundraising, or which celebrities are or are not supporting the candidates, or who has said what about who should be running.
Each party has gone through its primaries and caucuses; each party has its conventions coming up. Let that process work itself out.
Our job is to share real information about real issues with real people. Sure, post and repost on social media; and also get out of that noise machine and listen to the people in our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities. Share the data with them that gets so easily drowned out in horse-race commentary: job creation, GDP growth, confident global allies, real wage growth, declining inflation.
And share how to distinguish real information from mis-and dis-information campaigns. We know there are coordinated campaigns led by foreign powers (e.g., Russia) trying to confuse, divide, and thereby conquer us. We need to combat the strategy of flooding communication channels with lies - the goal of that strategy is not necessarily for people to believe the lies. It’s for more and more people to give up trying to determine what is true and accurate, so they opt out of participation in the election.
Share, over and over again, what the presumptive Republican candidate has said and written about his plans for retaking the office; what Project 2025 lays out as a blueprint for stripping the federal government’s ability to protect civil and human rights; what other allies have said and done and written about their goals (for a Biblical Republic, for a Christian nation, etc.).
Share their own words and deeds. Share the accomplishments of the last four years of this administration. Let folks compare the two, and base their decision in November on facts.
After the photo, some sources to get you started. Please share, take care, and stay engaged. You are needed more than ever.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/29/economy-inflation-jobs-miracle/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/28/economy-gloom-voters-inflation/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/podcasts/project-2025-suddenly-everywhere-explained.html?searchResultPosition=35
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/09/opinion/krugman-inflation-report-bidenomics.html?searchResultPosition=28
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/11/us/politics/republicans-debt-deficit-platform.html?searchResultPosition=31