I was thrilled to read in last Friday’s Commonwealth where Wyatt Emmerich was offering a local social media platform as a counter to the type of content that we encounter on the global goliaths such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok (“Taking on mighty Facebook”, Friday, April 1, 2022 in the Greenwood Commonwealth). This has probably been going on for a while, but being old fashioned, I much prefer to read hardcopy print, as I, like most folks that I know, end up spending way too much time looking at a phone, tablet or computer screen on a daily basis, anyway. Most of what I read in the newspaper, with the exception of opinion articles, I judge to be truth, most of the time, whereas, 75% of what I get fed on Facebook, even the items that are reposted or forwarded from people on my ‘friends’ list is usually half-truth, misleading, or a flat out lie! There are so many lies that are being spread around, on all sorts of media, that it is great that we have a local venue to pose questions and discuss current events with folks that have a similar background, from a similar area. Obviously, this does not mean that we are going to agree, especially on the opinions. There are six people that, from time to time, live under my roof. Five of the six of us went to the same high school. All 6 of us went to the same college. With all of these similarities, one would think that we would see the world’s current events through the same lens and interpret these events in much the same way. Not even close. When we discuss topical events, and there are differences in opinion, my family members point out what they think and what their friends think, whereas I tend to start most of my sentences with “well, historically...” or “...that’s not what the Bible has to say about that...”. So, I think it is great that we have a new, local source to share ideas about some of the current events that leave many of us scratching our head and muttering, “I just don’t understand.”
If you read Mr. Emmerich’s article in Friday’s paper, then there is a good chance that you read the article below it, “Trump toadies get off easy”, by Cynthia Tucker. In her article, she takes Rep. Madison Cawthorn to task, and writes, “That’s probably because Cawthorn, like other Trumpist zealots, has embraced the former president’s Big Lie about a stolen election – a false claim that, in the bizarro world of the current GOP, has become the party’s foundational truth.” She goes on to single out a few others and adds, “{they} remain in good standing in Republican circles, even though they are dangerous extremists who persist in spreading that lie.”
Leonard Pitts, a frequent submitter to the Commonwealth, has also had articles printed where his point is the same as Ms. Tucker, that there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that there was any election fraud. Yet, for a full year after the election, my Facebook feed consistently fed me, on a daily basis, many instances of election fraud! I viewed video feeds of entire ballot boxes being swapped out with replacements from car trunks and windowless vans. I viewed personal testimonials of election officials that were thumbing through bags and bags of mail in ballots, that: A) did not have postage on them (how did they go through the USPS?) B) had never been folded (mail in ballots require being folded for obvious privacy concerns), and C) were 90-100% cast for the same candidate (a statistical impossibility!). I saw detailed lists of many precincts where there were more votes cast for one candidate, than there were even registered voters! Needless to say, I was concerned. Regardless of who we voted for in this past election, I think we are all united in the goal of fair and accurate elections. No matter what your opinion is on a representative majority rule, history has proven over and over again that minority rule usually only leads to mass oppression.
As we have all now seen, the election stood. Whatever election anomalies that took place, such as the middle of the night spike in Biden votes, were just that: anomalies. The large number of local election officials that would have had to be complicit in an election scandal of this scale, makes a grand election theft highly unlikely. Conclusion: Facebook lies. Why? I just don’t understand…
Maybe it is the Russians intent on bringing about our democratic demise. Maybe it’s the Chinese, trying to sow discord in our election process in hopes that we will adopt their form of government. Maybe it’s anarchists, hoping to thwart the will of the people for their personal gain.
As for Cynthia Tucker, Leonard Pitts, and others that point out the Big Lie that there was absolutely no election fraud. I guess we owe them an apology, and a debt of gratitude.
Except... There have been numerous election officials prosecuted for election fraud from the 2020 election. The Greenwood Commonwealth has had articles reporting several of these instances, and there are other reliable sources that point out that most of the swing states with the contentious swing precincts, are indeed under investigation for voter fraud and even where it cannot be proven that there was criminal intent to defraud, officials and volunteers have been reprimanded and censured for not following proper election procedures and protocol. Why are these instances of voter fraud mostly ignored? First, there is almost certainly not going to be enough voter fraud uncovered to overturn the election. Second, these precinct level indiscretions are common. Elections are hard to run, and nearly impossible to run 100% mistake free. So, finding irregularities in a contentious, nationwide election is not exactly an uncommon occurrence. Thus the prevalence of Facebook disseminated ‘fraud’ information. But, since there have been numerous instances of election fraud, doesn’t that also make Cynthia Tucker and Leonard Pitts perpetrators of their own Big Lie?
My now grown children, like myself, are big movie fans. We frequently use movie quotes to help make a point. I am reminded of a quote by a young Obi Wan Kenobi, “Only a Sith deal in absolutes!” To which we usually follow that quote up with, “Absolutely only a Sith!”
Maybe Ms. Tucker and Mr. Pitts will join the rest of us in understanding that, yes, there was some proven, prosecuted election fraud. Was it enough to change the election result? So far, obviously not. But to keep repeating that “there was absolutely no proof of any election fraud!” is, quite frankly, it’s own Big Lie! To which I can only respond, “I just don’t understand.”
