"Truth is such a rare thing, it is delightful to tell it."
~Emily Dickinson
Okay, I know this is NOT a political blog (and it isn't, I promise) but I am compelled to address the dangerous precedent that was set at the #GOP2012 #RNC this week:
reinventing history. Please note,
reinventing history is a politically correct label coined by a major
media outlet that I do respect (they provided more substance in their '
Facts Take A Beating' piece today); I simply refuse to beat around the bush with cutesy or pc labels, a spade is a spade in my world. Bottom line: the #RNC was overflowing with brazen, bold-faced lying and it is NOT ACCEPTABLE; even Fox News called Rep. Ryan out very publicly
here -- yes, FOX NEWS! I am
honestly surprised that the pants of certain speakers did not burst into flames while they were delivering their addresses in Tampa. For those of you thinking, "Whatever, bleeding-heart Liberal crazy lady..." please know that I will also be watching the #DNC next week with the same critical eye with respect to fact checking and TELLING THE TRUTH. I live for the day when ALL people, politicians pundits and ordinary folks alike, take the Emily Dickinson quote I shared above to heart!
Previously, I was worried about the appalling apathy Americans were demonstrating with respect to the upcoming
Presidential Election. Now, my true fear is the large number of US Citizens
(aka: potential voters) who are deluded devotees of the current
deceitful Republican party-line; these potential voters follow their leaders unquestioningly, regardless of facts; they refuse or simply cannot be bothered to review any of the numerous, independent or partisan, fact checking resources available today:
Independent Voter Network, FactCheck, Politifact, etc.; these blind party faithfuls are the most dangerous potential voters of all. President Kennedy addressed this condition perfectly in his June 11, 1962, Yale University Commencement Address: "For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie—deliberate, contrived, and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."
-John F. Kennedy
Scary, right?!? But oh, SO true ... And, based on the way honest Politicians and Pundits are maligned by our mass media today, George Orwell nailed it even earlier when he published
'Nineteen Eighty-Four' in 1949:
It's time America, join me, STEP UP: Rebut the myths -- THINK -- and if you feel obliged to honor the past, take a positive page from our forefather's playbook: Be a Revolutionary, speak and seek the truth! Thank you.
UPDATE 09/01/12:
I would be remiss if I didn't also include links to the brilliant satire delivered by two of my favorites on Comedy Central last night for #RNC2012 Wrap-Up...
Jon Stewart - The Daily Show
Stephen Colbert - The Colbert Report