In 2017, six months into the Trump presidency, a “March for Truth” occurred in Glenwood, among other things prompted by Trump’s refusal to answer questions about Russian election interference (followed by his inexplicably distasteful Helsinki alignment with Russia, rejecting the uniform assessment of the U.S. intelligence community), his early attacks on the First Amendment and professional journalists through, e.g., his delusional claims of “fake news” and his early months of demonstrable lying to America, and his refusal to submit to formal press conferences.
In the Glenwood protest, a marcher carried an Orwellian sign: “Trump Killed Truth,” now also having become Trump’s persistent, clandestine efforts to hide the truth.
It is three years of America spiraling downward into Trump’s personal black hole that has become American life under Trump, two significant parts of which are the crescendo of crises that exist in Trump’s chaotic mind and attempts to siphon the life out of America, requiring resistance to Trump’s behaviors dragging America into his chaotically dangerous mind, and Trump’s grinding desecration and “off record,” corrosively corrupt cover-ups of truth within his personal darkness. Credible fact checking of Trump’s utterances places Trump’s paranoid, accelerating disregard for truth at some 12,000 lies, approximately 12 each day, 360 each month of his presidency.
Without regard to policy matters over which we may reasonably differ, at least these questions should be asked by each voting American: Would I want Trump to be my child’s friend? A mentor to those I love? A teacher of my community’s students? A coach molding youth? A key employee in my business? A co-worker? My daughter’s betrothed? An ethics instructor? A Boy or Girl Scout leader? A Sunday School teacher or a confirmation leader? A godparent?
The answers are clearly “no.”
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Defend truth. Defend democracy. Defeat Trump.
The truth matters.
John Erickson
Brainerd
