I don’t want much out of politics these days. My bar for “things are going okay” has gotten much lower since Trump’s presidency. Yes, that’s a sad state of affairs, but I’m just saying how it is. And so when it comes to the debate this evening, I really just want a couple of things.
First and foremost, I would for someone–anyone–to call Trump out when he flat out lies, and to do it in a consistent manner. Of course, the problem with trying to do this with Trump is that he doesn’t care. He will gleefully reiterate the same lies time and time again, knowing full well that people who support him are going to take anyone questioning him as just another instance of him being “persecuted” by the media.
But hey, it doesn’t just have to be when Trump lies. If Harris or any other politician is lying or misleading, they should be called out as well. With AI these days, it wouldn’t be hard to have ChatGPT listen to the debate and to fact check everyone involved (debaters and those asking the questions). You could even tie it to a little thermometer graphic for each person, where it goes higher and higher depending on how many lies have been told.
Part of the trouble is that people can’t agree on what the actual facts are. You can watch news coverage of the exact same events and have the newscasters interpreting those events in an almost polar opposite manner. And then, depending on which one you believe, you walk away thinking entirely different things. This means people end up living in different realities. I’m doing research right now for a book I’m thinking about writing that takes place in East Germany. It’s disturbing to see the parallels between how the media was run under that regime and how some of our media is run today. How does having a free press really help us, if that press chooses to censor itself in order to make more money? It’s the capitalist version of censorship that ends up in the exact same place as the communist flavor did.
There is such a thing as true and false. There are objective facts, and if you can’t support your statements with actual evidence to back them up, it’s not unrealistic to be called out on that. Terrorists are flooding over the border along with the refugees? Prove it. Where are you getting your data to support that statement? Specifically. If you can’t provide it, you’re either delusional, misguided, or lying.
The bottom line is that I would love for truth and facts to be put back into an esteemed position. They should matter. How likely do I think it is that this will happen? Not. I fully expect Trump to lie and then just keep beating that lie as long as his mic is on. It worked for him in the first debate.
Which leads me to my other hope/wish for the debate this evening. I don’t think Harris has to do much. I mean, don’t be a bumbling, mumbling wreck of a debater, ala Biden in his last debate. But more than that, just sit there and point out all the falsehoods Trump is spouting out. Ignore his base, because they won’t believe you no matter what. Speak to the independents, and point out how ridiculous and one-note Trump is. Be reasonable and matter-of-fact. Don’t call names. Don’t take any cheap shots. That sort of thing just plays to his game. It’s what he wants.
I just want someone there to take a stand for truth and stick to it. Whether that’s possible or not remains to be seen, but I’d love to see a valiant attempt at it.