My earliest political memory is being stuck in the back seat of the car with my two siblings during a visit to the US from England and constantly being told to shush by my parents who were listening to the Watergate hearings.
It seems appropriate then, that I was watching the HBO Max limited series White House Plumbers when this happened:
For those of us who lived in NYC in the late 80’s and have been witness to the Trump Show prior to his running for president, it felt like a long overdue vindication; proof that while the wheels of justice move almost as slowly as publishing, there’s still hope.
But after reading through some of the articles, I turned on Fox News, because I wanted to see how the story was being framed in MAGAland. It made me long for Walter Cronkite.
First, up was former acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker telling us about how rich white men can’t get a break in the “two-tiered” American justice system.
I tried to imagine how my Black brothers and sisters must feel upon hearing about this terrible imagined “injustice” to poor, beleaguered old rich white men who have a history of unethical behavior and have been indicted in at least one other jurisdiction with the possibility of further indictments coming.
Then DC correspondent Kevin Corke quoted Trump lawyers as saying that this wasn’t just “a miscarriage of justice”, it was “an attack on the American system, one that will play out negatively for generations to come.”
Corke went on to quote “an old saying here in Washington: ‘People have long knives and long memories.’”
I will leave it up to Washington folks to confirm that is an old DC saying, but in the meantime, I’m issuing a dog whistle alert. History students will recognize an implicit warning to other Republicans by the use of “long knives”.
Then Faulkner lays the groundwork for the Fox narrative she’s about to unfold. “This is…politically dangerously close [to the 2024 election] where people begin to question everything now. “
She then pivots to the GOP-led House committee investigating Biden bribes, and hints that they might be connected - that “the Biden Administration” (she corrects herself to say “the Biden Justice Department” but once can’t help thinking that was a deliberate mistake given what comes after) indicted Trump to divert attention from his own misconduct.
I’d just finished listening to Ruta Sepetys brilliant historical novel I Must Betray You on my walk yesterday morning. It’s about the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s totalitarian regime in Romania, and as I watched this “alternative facts” narrative unfold, I couldn’t help being reminded of state TV under communism, with this obvious attempt to link well-respected independent Special Counsel Jack Smith with Biden and subsequently pushing the idea that he is “protecting the Bidens” by indicting Trump. This, despite all the evidence that Merrick Garland as AG has been acting with extreme caution given that this case involves a former President of the United States.
It’s important for us all to understand the alternative narrative that’s being spun, one that your relatives and friends might be absorbing and believing.
After spending thirty minutes in the Fox version of reality, I am even more anxious about our future.
“A republic - if you can keep it” said Benjamin Franklin.
What can we do to help keep it? It’s now more important than ever that we teach information literacy skills and critical thinking in every single subject from K-12 upward.
We must all make sure that we aren’t part of the problem when it comes to spreading misinformation.
Here are some tips to help.
Make a concerted effort not to share misinformation
o Social media algorithms prioritize posts that engage people with anger, disgust, negativity
o If a post/email/meme provokes strong emotion STOP AND FACTCHECK BEFORE YOU SHARE
o Think: Who benefits from me feeling this emotion?
o Sign up for Rumorguard
o Search laterally to confirm/disprove claims
Continually challenge your worldview
o Read or listen to news from sources across the political spectrum within the US and look at reputable sources outside the US (search laterally when evaluating sources)