The Consequences of Trump’s lies
Donald Trump’s statements are loaded with falsehoods.
November 5, 2018
President Donald Trump has continued to tell blatant lies on a constant basis. He’s lied about radicalized Islamic terrorists traveling with the migrant caravan seeking asylum from war and poverty. He’s also lied about winning a fight against Democrats for legislation on the opioid crisis when the bill passed easily with bipartisan support.
With all the lies Trump has told, one begs to ask the question about the impact that all these falsehoods could have on our political system and society. The president is supposed to be our moral leader and we should rely on him to deliver accurate information to the American people.
One effect of President Trump’s lies is the fact that he’s undermined our free press. Although many may laugh at the fact that Trump has labelled news outlets such as CNN and MSNBC as “fake news,” there are serious implications to the rhetoric he constantly displays. More and more people don’t know what media they can trust as being true or false. This leads to the truth being distorted and the fact that Trump can blatantly get away with lies knowing many people won’t search for facts. Then when organizations like the New York Times and Washington Post try to actually give people the truth by fact-checking the president, they’re credibility is undermined because Trump classifies them as “liberal media.”
Another effect of Trump’s lies is the fact that we are slowly normalizing the fact that President can lie to us. Although politicians can be known for twisting the truth, no president in American history has constantly willingly lied to the American people on such a frequent basis. For example, the economy right now is performing extremely well, but when Trump says that this economy is the “best ever”, it detracts from the fact he should be getting some credit for the economy’s success. It’s almost as if he believes Americans are idiots and will buy into anything he says as long as the principle behind it is correct.
Not all politicians are perfect, some make mistakes and have faults that can detract from their legacies. But Trump’s falsehoods not only degrade his status as a leader, but degrade the nation altogether. The fact that he continues to twists realities for the sake of advancing a political agenda leaves more people misinformed and ultimately weakens our democracy.
John Jiler • Nov 6, 2018 at 11:42 am
THE NOTORIOUS NINETEEN
Dear Editor;
Autumn is deepening, and seniors are seriously thinking about their next step. For many of us, your generation is the hope of the future. The Parkland high school shootings galvanized young people across the nation to passionately advocate for common sense gun laws. Now, as your attention turns to college, we want to turn our admiration into action.
With the help of the Brady Center, the new Gabby Giffords consortium, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, we’re reaching out to high school journalists across the country with our list of the NOTORIOUS NINETEEN—the states with dangerous, inadequate gun laws. Many of them condone the open carry of weapons on college campuses, but even those who don’t have encouraged or tolerated a state-wide, lawless violent culture. Our mission is to make these states known to high school seniors, whom we encourage NOT to apply to college in:
ALABAMA, ALASKA, ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, IDAHO, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, MISSISSIPPI, MISSOURI, MONTANA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NORTH DAKOTA, OKLAHOMA, TEXAS, UTAH, WEST VIRGINIA, or WYOMING.
We’ll be following up with letters to college presidents, Governors and legislators of the “Notorious Nineteen.” If they’re curious why their state-wide college applications are down this year, we’ll be happy to tell them!
Thank you for considering the publication of this letter in your newspaper. This is how the world changes. Good luck throughout senior year…… and beyond!
Best,
John Jiler,
Coordinator,
Committee for Scholastic Action On Guns