There is an old saying: "You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts." Apparently though, in 2017 that is no longer the case. This past Sunday Kellyanne Conway attempted to change all that. As you may or may not know, Conway went on Meet the Press and not only defended the blatantly false and inaccurate claims of WH Press Secretary Sean Spicer but went a step further and referred to these claims as "alternate facts". As opposed I guess to "actual facts".
Now follow me for a second. Conway isn't the first, second, or third WH spokesperson in the history of this country to tell a lie. She isn't the first to get caught in one or called out for telling one. It's par for the course whether we want to admit it or not. But referring to an obvious falsehood as an "alternative fact"? That's new. To basically look at the camera and boldly call a lie the truth? That's fairly new too. I mean the game started the same way it always starts. She got called on a lie. She tried to deflect. She played the victim. She ducked the question. All the standard stuff. But when Chuck Todd pressed her and wouldn't let off the hook she employed a new tactic. She suggested that Spicer wasn't lying or wrong or even mistaken. She suggested that he was giving alternative facts. She literally erased the line between what's real and what isn't real. She erased the line between a lie and the truth.
I shouldn't have to tell anyone how dangerous this is. Sure we've all got jokes and most people really don't give a damn about how many people showed up or watched an inauguration. But think about it. We have a WH that is essentially dictating what facts are. We have a WH that is essentially saying "To hell with the truth. It happened because WE SAID it happened.". We have a WH telling us what is real and what isn't real, truth be damned. That. Is. Dangerous. If they will go this route on something as insignificant as the turnout for the inauguration what happens when the subject is something serious? This goes well beyond breach of trust. It's an administration literally telling you what you are allowed to believe, whether it's true of not.
What's even more upsetting is that Conway knew she'd get away with it. At one point she arrogantly brushed her hair back, posturing as if she was completely in the right. That is because for a long time now we've been watching and allowing the media and the government lie, distort, misrepresent, and fabricate truth. It's been going on for years and it's been getting progressively worse. We've also become a very soft minded, anti-intellectual, hyper-partisan society. Combine that with the racial and social bias that permeates this country and it's not hard to see why Conway had no fear going on national television and presenting a lie as the truth. It's incredibly disturbing.
The Trump Administration has ushered in the age of alternative facts. An age where the truth is meaningless. Where facts are malleable, ambiguous things wide open for interpretation. I sincerely hope I'm not the only person who sees how dangerous this path is that we are on. Thanks for reading.
Follow me on Twitter @DocSinn
On FB https://www.facebook.com/officialdocsinn
No comments:
Post a Comment