Making Sense

There are plenty of conspiracy theories running through the social media apps about the 2024 election. Some people, like me, just don’t understand why anyone would vote for a man with as much dirty laundry as our president-elect is toting around. While I don’t deal in conspiracy theories, I have a few theories about how we got here and even more questions.

Massive amounts of money drive politics these days. Propaganda spreads quickly, and the propagandists push back against fact checking. Add apathy, and you have the most dangerous thing of all, ignorance. Then there were those bomb threats in Swing State voting locations.

We could have copied what the president-elect tried to do when he was defeated by Joe Biden, but two wrongs don’t make a right.

Still, it’s hard to fathom how many of my religious friends voted for Trump and badmouth two of the most devout Christians who ever served this country, President Biden and the late Jimmy Carter. Are any of them rethinking their vote as the president-elect complains about being inaugurated with the flag at half-mast?

Actually, that’s exactly where it should be, maybe for the next four years.

The policies of Carter and Biden might not have been popular with the tax-cuts-for-the-rich crowd, but they were designed to help those who needed help. Think about the $35 cap on insulin, part of the Inflation Reduction Act that Biden got passed and which is already under attack by the newly sworn in 119^th Congress.

Can anyone explain to me why devout church-goers would vote for a sexual offender and perpetual liar. Might it have to do with their news sources?

The MAGA crowd has tried to claim the Patriot title, too, another head scratcher. Do they not understand, as they follow every word from the wannabe monarch, that the monarchy was exactly what the original patriots were fighting against.

And then there’s that Freedom of Religion thing. I know, they’re all for freedom of religion if it’s about their religion. I guess they really don’t understand the freedom of choice part.

I am afraid of what can go wrong during the coming administration, but there are reasons for hope. Two of the conservative justices voted for the rule of law, allowing justice to be served. Judge Merchan deserves a shout out for his handling of the election interference case in New York. Sure, the felon deserved a stiffer penalty, but the judge did what was necessary to make sure that there was a sentence.

Meanwhile, we need to talk to our friends and neighbors, help them see the that the truth isn’t coming from Truth Social or Fox News. And it’s certainly not coming from the president-elect’s mouth.