Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!
Liar, Liar. Pants on Fire. The lies from the powerful, especially Republicans, have risen to stunningly Orwellian 2 + 2 = 5 levels. The lies that protect their wealth and power have been quite successful at gaining wide acceptance. They keep at it because they know most of us reject a grossly inequitable society in which only some people enjoy a stable secure life. Inevitably, the truth seeps through the cracks in their wall of deceptions. Most Americans want fairness and access to decisions that affect our lives. The purveyors of self-protecting fabrications are afraid of the truth. Increasingly, they resort to authoritarianism, outlawing truth-telling, spreading misinformation, and blocking democratic processes.
The well-trod lies are designed to sound like common sense but are demonstrably false. They include:
Providing parents with choices through school vouchers and charter schools improves achievement and equity.
No, they support the privileged, starve and undermine public education, and get the rest of us to fight amongst ourselves for scraps.
The competitive free market will reduce costs and provide choices to consumers to improve education, healthcare, and housing.
No, the free market never reduced the cost of any of these or made these necessities affordable to everyone. Instead, the free market continues to make profits for a few, provides higher quality for those with money to spare, and leaves the rest of us with lower quality or nothing at all.
People are poor because they are lazy or stupid, so social support is a waste of money.
No, our economic and social systems ensure that there are haves and have-nots, haves pass on unearned wealth to their children, that taxes on the rich remain unfair, while trying to convince the rest of us that our struggles are our fault.
Taxing wealth reduces the incentive to innovate and slows economic growth.
No, the United States taxed wealth at far higher rates in the past without stopping us from becoming the world's largest and most innovative economy. Increasing inequity disincentivizes and slows innovation by keeping too many of us struggling to make ends meet.
These are the lies that the powerful repeat again-and-again, wherever and whenever they can. They assume we are gullible, will fall back, and accept our fate. Our lives do not need to be this way if we organize and if we vote.
The 2024 election is a critical test for voters. Will we accept our inequitable, powerless fate or fight back? Report after report tells us that so many people will, in disgust, stay home that the authoritarian, wealth-protecting, anti-democratic liars will win control of Congress and the presidency. Life's necessities still cost too damn much, so hearing from Democrats that the inflation, employment, and average wages are getting better falls on deaf ears. Voters–especially the young adults and people of color who Democrats need to win– see that in 2023, our country once again finds money for war but too little to help people. The enduring perception is that no one is on their side.
If Democrats want to win elections, they need to tell the unvarnished truth: The biggest, most enduring lie is that inequity is inevitable. Democrats: Don’t tell people to trust you. Tell them to organize! Tell them:
Inequity may be persistent, but we can change that. For example, when workers organized in unions, inequity decreased. Unemployment Insurance, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, OSHA workplace safety, and environmental protection laws resulted from organized people who challenged the pressure and lies of the wealthy.
Politicians–well intentioneld or not–must be pressured to do the right thing. Big piles of campaign cash and lobbying incentivize them to avoid truths that challenge wealth.
Organize, march, rally, shout, and demand: If you want our votes, tell the friggin' truth!
Arthur taught and led science professional learning and curriculum and assessment development projects for 50 yrs. He writes about education and social justice. He loves spending time with friends and family, hiking, and gardening.
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