Opinion
STOP THE LIES!
By Bryan Jenkins
One of things I looked forward to most, when I turned 18, was having the right to vote. It was a big deal!… the source of boisterous discussions in my high school civics classes. Heck, people had even died for the right to vote! We were in awe and excited over the new responsibility! Now, I’m 66 and I can’t stop tossing and turning over what today’s elected officials are doing to undermine our trust in voting – the lynchpin of American democracy! I wish they’d STOP TELLING AMERICAN VOTERS NOT TO TRUST OUR SYSTEM OF ELECTIONS!
Let’s be clear… NO ONE HAS PRODUCED ANY PROOF OF ANY AMOUNT OF FRAUD THAT WOULD HAVE CHANGED THE OUTCOME OF THE 2020 ELECTION! So says former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr… appointed by former fraud-complainer-in-chief, Donald Trump and former U.S. Cyber Security Chief Kris Krebs… also appointed by Donald Trump. Let’s remember, judges across the country – democrat and republican – tossed out some 60 lawsuits claiming fraud, ruling that those lawsuits had no basis in fact… that they were essentially “bogus”.
In Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, everywhere votes were recounted after the 2020 election, there was, repeatedly, no finding of fraud significant enough to change the outcome of the election. Remember that Arizona audit?… which captivated America for months? It turned out to be more bogus than the stolen election claims that prompted it!
There were no Antifa or Black Lives Matter banners flying amid the smoke and chaos of January 6th.
There were no Antifa or Black Lives Matter banners flying amid the smoke and chaos of January 6th. That attack on the capitol was carried out by Donald Trump supporters… many wearing MAGA hats. HE told them to come and egged them on! The nation watched! Yet here we are, more than three years later, people still toking on that fraud tiparillo CONTINUE TO LIE! “That was no insurrection”, they say, just a “normal tourist visits by peaceful patriots”. Are they lying?… or are your eyes?
Elected officials who initially stood up and pointed fingers at Trump, now whistle in step, hands in their pockets, waiting in line at Mar-a-lago to kiss the ring… even as revelations from the nationally televised U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the January 6th Attack, exposed election lies like a vampire in sunlight!
After more than 30 years in Broadcast News Journalism… the last four of them mired in the previous administration’s virtual “lie-a-thon” that inundated America’s nightly-news… I was done. Retirement brought a welcome mental break. But here we are, in the coming election of 2024, I turn on the TV and the election lies continue!
What happened to the concepts of honesty and truth? Remember when your teachers or parents, back in the day, would share some moral reference to Honest Abe?… or to the story of George Washington, wherein he cuts down his father’s cherry tree, then admits it, saying “I cannot tell a lie”?… and his father embraces him for his honesty? By the way, THAT story was actually a lie, but it became a popular myth aimed at teaching kids the importance of honesty and TELLING THE TRUTH.
How do we explain to our children and grandkids – the next generation of American voters – the value of honesty and public service, and the greatness of democracy, when, in every night’s headlines they hear the people we elect lie to our faces??? These are people we’re supposed to trust, to do the right thing on behalf of all of us. Doggonit, they keep on lying… the truth just doesn’t seem important anymore!… and that’s why… I can’t sleep! Can You?
Bryan Jenkins is a 35-year veteran of Broadcast Journalism… honored for work ‘on the set’ and ‘in the field’, with two Los Angeles Emmy Awards, a Golden Mike Award and The N.A.B.J.’s National Award of Excellence. Bryan is a captivating storyteller and communicator, having worked as Anchor, Reporter, and Producer in major markets across the country, and contributed to successful media campaigns for local politicians and non-profit organizations. He now resides in southern California, sharing his expertise as a writer and Media Consultant.