Eight false beliefs voters cling to

Many Americans will be basing their voting decisions this year on strongly held beliefs that are complete nonsense. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that voters are stupid. I am saying that they often don’t do their homework thoroughly and are therefore easily deceived by simplistic slogans, false conspiracies, and fake outrage. Even worse, voters are usually completely unaware of how their representatives actually vote while in office.

Here is a list of false beliefs that many voters hold:

The 2020 Presidential election was somehow “stolen.” This item is probably the most influential and dangerous bit of nonsense that has ever been perpetrated on the American people. I wrote about it in detail in an earlier blog post.

Making voting more difficult will improve election security. The Republican Party, in states that they control, has consciously and deliberately, over the past two years, passed legislation and set up policies to make it harder and more inconvenient for people to vote. The details of the legislation differ from state to state, but the goal was to make it harder and more inconvenient for people (especially the poor and people of color) to vote. The excuse Republicans give is that they need to make elections “more secure.” The truth is that Republicans want to block voters who are less likely to vote for them.

Banning books protects children. Knowledge is power. Knowledge sets people free. Autocrats prefer to keep people in ignorance because it makes them easier to control. School teachers and librarians are professionals who love their students and work hard to give ALL of them the the best opportunities they can provide. No one in the education community is there to harm children. The current right-wing attacks on teachers, school boards, teaching materials and library books are purely political and are based on ignorance, prejudice, and racism.

Tax cuts for the rich, trickle down to everyone. This nonsense was the center of the so-called “Reagan Revolution.” It led to more than 40 years of ever-increasing income inequality in the United States. The Republicans still preach this thoroughly dis-proven and discredited economic theory as their economic gospel. The historical record clearly shows that the economy does much better with a Democrat in the White House.

More guns will make everyone safer. This is illogical on it’s face. Guns are dangerous. More guns are more dangerous. This statement is equivalent to saying that more cars will lead to fewer auto accidents. Yet, the Republicans continue to spread this lie because the gun industry contributes millions of dollars to their campaigns. Our country is now so saturated with guns that more and more people are feeling insecure. The solution, they are told, is to buy even more guns – thus creating even more insecurity. This is a classic downward spiral and can only result in disaster.

Politicians should restrict women’s health care options. Politicians, especially male politicians, have no business telling doctors how to best treat (or worse, not allow them to treat) their female patients. Doctors are trained and certified medical experts. Politicians are not. Further, every patient, male or female, deserves medical privacy and bodily autonomy.

FoxNews is news. FoxNews is a right-wing propaganda network. A university study showed that FoxNews viewers are actually less-informed about what is going on than people who watch other news – or no news at all. The network knows they peddle lies. When challenged in court for slander, FoxNews personality Tucker Carlson’s lawyers argued that “no reasonable viewer” understands his statements to be facts.

Victor Orban of Hungary is an example of the type of leadership the US needs. This autocratic fascist dictator is the darling of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), has been championed by Tucker Carlson of FoxNews, and is seen by many right-wing Republicans as an example of the type of “leadership” we should have in the United States.

The beliefs listed above are dangerous. They are un-American. Yet, these false beliefs underlie every action and policy of the modern Republican Party; and they motivate the self-righteous, intolerant, and sometimes violent behaviors of it’s supporters.

It is essential that reasonable people stand up, speak out, and vote against these beliefs whenever and however possible. It is important to try and help our friends and family see the truth. The continued spread of these false beliefs will inevitably lead to the loss of our freedom and the collapse of our democratic republic.

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