WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
from 1984 , the novel by George Orwell
Fiction became reality in 2020. We have only to add the slogan “DEFEAT IS VICTORY” to make George Orwell’s dystopian slogans from his novel a reality of our times. Despite a decisive defeat in a Presidential election, Donald Trump managed to recruit millions of voters and over a hundred members of Congress to the lie he won the election of 2020. Is this a matter of opinion or sheer force of will that the ex-President used to convince a sizable minority of America that he is the genuine, maligned 46th President of the United States?
The message of 1984 was that the propaganda of its government was not only true, but it was nearly impossible for the citizens to think otherwise. Whether you read the novel or see the movie directed by Michael Radford you are overwhelmed by the sense of truth crushed under the boot of power [https://en.wikipedia.org/
Those who invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2021 will probably tell you Orwell’s dictatorship is the kind of government they oppose, but that is actually the government they want to impose. The ex-President, with no other evidence but his powerful presence, pounded the media for two months with the message of his landslide victory, despite losing the popular vote by more than seven million votes and the Electoral College vote by 74 votes [https://www.archives.gov/
Two weeks after the frightening breach of the Capitol by domestic terrorists, the real terror is how many Americans still believe in the “truth” of the stolen election, but not in the subsequent violence. Orwell’s horribly bleak prophecy has taken root in a democratic society. We are wrong to think that our ex-President is out of sight, therefore out of mind. The lies linger. It is not a matter of whether the ex-President is allowed to “get away” with his crime of incitement, but that there is a persistent fog of lies. It is confusion to our minds and precedent for future campaigns of lies that could induce public gullibility. Why couldn’t every Presidential election be contested in the same way? DEFEAT IS VICTORY. The courts must be illuminated.
The first lie is the illegitimacy of the Presidential election. The legitimacy of the current President would be supported if the ex-President were convicted of incitement to insurrection. Otherwise the election remains contested and the legitimacy of the sitting President remains in question. Congressional representatives need to be pressured by their constituents to push against the darkness.
The second lie is that truth is subservient to power. The ex-President must be prevented from this practice by eliminating his running in future elections. He used his power to fire officials of the Justice Department to decrease his vulnerability to impeachment and conviction, beginning with James Comey and continuing through the planned firing of acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. He has evaded justice by his power to fire his opponents, not by presenting a case. His supporters actually admire this ruthlessness, but the belief that truth is subservient to power is toxic to a democracy. Power cannot be allowed to suppress the truth..
The third lie is that prosecution of the ex-President is really persecution from enemies. The tangled web of the ex-President’s alleged offenses are not a sign he is persecuted by some deep state conspiracy; they are a sign of his devious survival strategy. Here are a few charges the ex-President will face:
defamation of character; [https://www.justsecurity.org/
conflicts of interest; [forbes.com/sites/
obstruction of justice; bribery; [https://www.washingtonpost.
The ex-President will have an active life as a defendant in the coming years . The evidence of his devious means to power would be verified by convictions following his impeachment. The first conviction would be in the Senate, but he faces subsequent charges in the Manhattan District Court and other venues. Prosecutions should be aggressive with strong evidence. Every exoneration of the ex-President would add to the lie that he is merely being persecuted by an invisible conspiracy. Even with convictions the lie that the ex-President is merely the target of a conspiracy will be difficult to undermine, because DEFEAT IS VICTORY.
The fourth lie is that the media outlet that favors your tribe is the only truthful outlet. Because of the dizzying proliferation of sources, it is difficult to evaluate them all for reliable evidence-based coverage. Therefore, the most convenient basis for truth has become how the media voice echoes you or your worldview. From this principle, the ex-President has led us to believe that only the media that cover him favorably are genuine. The rest are “fake media” or a “hoax.” DEFEAT IS VICTORY.
We are always beset with contradictory media reports, and the voting public will have to learn how to evaluate them for truth. But the way to evaluate them is not how they cover your favorite candidates or celebrities. There is no window shopping for truth. Snopes.com and independent research studies e.g.(https://www.
Truth is an endangered resource. The ex-President has ravaged this resource his entire professional career. That is why he should be prosecuted and convicted to the full extent of the law. That is why he should be discredited in every case where he proclaims: DEFEAT IS VICTORY!
The ex-President faces no persecution, but prosecution for the truth. Give truth a chance.