When I hear someone in our household yelling — ‘OH… MY… GOD!’ — I figure it’s in reaction to something particularly egregious in the news, or in social media.
Folks certainly are letting it all fly, so to speak. Reading some of the back-and-forth commentary — about politics and politicians, in particular — sure can make your hair curl.
But there’s something strange with some of the commentary. Especially when, in social media, different folks countering critical remarks about Donald Trump, for example, seem to be on the same page, with comments sounding awfully similar. When they’re god blessing the former president and calling him their savior. Reading stuff like that makes you wonder if it’s actual people writing such stuff, or if foreign agents are planting such words, so they can — putting it — foment discord?
As a great uncle of mine used to say, “Let’s you and him fight.”
Letting it all fly seemed like an interesting idea, back when social media were first picking up steam. But now, with such wild, unbridled commentary and often, it seems, little accountability, I’m beginning to understand why I’m hearing — ‘OMG!’ — so much around home.
But having said there’s little accountability, I just read, in The Guardian newspaper, an update about defamation lawsuits a “leading supplier of US election technology” has filed against several allies of Mr. Trump “for pushing election ‘radioactive falsehoods.’” The election technology company, Dominion Voting Systems, with main offices in Denver and Toronto, “filed $1.3 billion defamation lawsuits against Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and MyPillow chief executive, Mike Lindell, for pushing the allegations without evidence,” the newspaper reported. “Among the more baroque conspiracy theories was that Dominion changed votes through algorithms in its voting machines that were created in Venezuela to rig elections for the late dictator Hugo Chávez… It was laughable but also potentially devastating to Dominion’s reputation and ruinous to its business…”
If, indeed, the accountability tide’s beginning to turn a little, maybe others letting it all fly will need to pause, some, to reflect. Like a Missouri state representative, for example.
With others in his political party, Rep. Justin Hill is against expanding Medicaid in his state, even though Missouri voters strongly favor providing more health coverage for low-income individuals, according to an article in the Kansas City Star.
“Even though my constituents voted for this lie, I’m going to protect them. I am proud to stand against the will of the people,” said Rep. Hill.
All this stuff is giving me religion. Like others in our household I’m saying — ‘OH… MY… GOD!’ — more than ever.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.