President Donald Trump, Women’s March, press conferences, Super Bowl and the media. There are so many places to begin with all that has happened over the past couple of weeks.
However, that’s not the most important part of the news, no matter how upset we are that the Patriots are indeed going to the Super Bowl. Patriots, try not to deflate any footballs this time, it’s not worth it.
What’s important is something called “alternative facts.” Kellyanne Conway has gotten a lot of flack for trying to defend the White House Press Secretary when he lied about the size of the inauguration crowd, but I think we should give her a break.
I use alternative facts all the time. I think that we all should. Who cares if it drops your GPA into the trash? At least you know that somewhere in your own mind, you were right. If the President can do it, so can you.
He’s created the alternative fact that three million people voted illegally and requires some serious investigation. (Hint: Trump, if someone votes against you, you cannot kick them out of the country unless you’re an autocratic nation). Just a reminder for Trump, the United States is democratic.
Alternative facts is how we should function from now on. Never mind that we are deceiving ourselves little by little until our whole reality shifts. If I can convince myself that I am a little bit taller and don’t have the face of a twelve year old, eventually I’ll begin to believe. I may have to stop looking at myself in the mirror.
Soon, we will live in a reality of alternative facts until all we know is those little “truths” that we tell ourself until we fall asleep at night.
That’s the danger with using alternative facts. All they really are is something called lies. The more lies we tell ourselves and the more lies we let the new president tell us, the more we deceive ourselves into a reality that just isn’t true.
Did three million people vote illegally? No, there is absolutely no evidence that points to that. Was President Trump’s inauguration crowd the biggest in history? No, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama beat him on that one. Even Richard Nixon had more viewers in his second inauguration.
It doesn’t matter who you voted for or supported in the first place. Donald Trump is indeed our president now, but that doesn’t mean he is ruler over all and that doesn’t mean alternative facts have to be the new reality.
It may seem like just one little lie and, in truth, we do that all that time. However, little lies tend to grow into bigger problems.
If Trump and his staff lie about the size of crowd or voter election fraud, no matter how insignificant that may be, what are they going to lie about next time on the basis of “alternative facts?”
I live in a world where there is black and white. You either lie or you tell the truth. There is no alternative, no matter how much we would like there to be.
So, even if it would make my job a little bit easier at times, I cannot operate on alternative facts because my reality will become so skewed that my mind will begin to believe the lies I tell. In the same way, Trump cannot operate on alternative facts and skew not only his reality, but the liberty of every United States citizen.
As citizens, it’s important to be mindful of what we hear, see and read. It’s basically all like The Onion. It’s necessary to watch for alternative facts and not let them become your reality.
Laina Yost
Managing Editor