The power of truth vs. the fragility of false narratives
Standing in truth is so powerful, they want to outlaw it. So stand in truth every day, and stand together.
Those who pay attention notice the relentless battle for control of the public narrative waged by this administration and its enablers. Each time journalists grow coverage of the disaster that is the strip mining of federal services such as social security, aviation safety, and farm support, the cancelling of aid to children and families around the world, and the redistribution of law enforcement away from real crime to pretend immigration violations, the administration counterpunches with culture war stories or made-up threats.
Classic totalitarian tactics: create a false emergency, use it to justify suspension of laws and protocols, repeat. Threaten those who call out the false nature of the emergency with prosecution. Name everything by its opposite: targeted prosecutions are “deweaponization of justice” efforts, violent attacks are “expressions of love.” Count on so many people becoming so overwhelmed by it all, they will give up trying to sort out the mess.
Totalitarian takeovers need very few active and engaged supporters (a few ultra wealthy funders, a few corrupt lawyers, a few groups of willing street thugs). They rely heavily on disengaging the masses by turning them into cynics or constructing a sense of helplessness.
Which is also why they are so fragile. When fear is the message and the cover story, you know the builder of the narrative is weak. Only strength can stand, rooted in values of inclusion and empowerment, engaging with multiple ideas and perspectives.
True leaders call attention to the work that needs to be done, their plans for doing it, and their openness to better ideas. Totalitarian wannabes divert attention from their actions with show and bluster.
Take heart. All over the country and all over the world, folks see clearly the nakedness of this aspiring emperor, and join together in action after action to puncture the illusions he and his enablers try to create. Standing in truth is so powerful, they want to outlaw it. So stand in truth every day, and stand together.
