Lord knows I detest what President Obama stood for, and how he tried to transform our Republic, but there’s something that might actually turn my stomach even more … FakeNews.
I have been BLOCKED by those with whom I was in philosophical agreement, for the most part, because I pointed out that they were sharing FakeNews. See, here’s the thing, we bitch and moan about the Lap Dog Media (CNN, MSNBC, and the like) for publishing FakeNews about those we are in agreement with but seem to think it’s okay to do the same about those we disagree with. Let’s be clear, FakeNews is FakeNews no matter what point of view it is falsifying.
Here’s a good rule of thumb… if something seems way off to you, or appears to bolster your point of view too much, it’s probably suspect and you should most definitely check it out. In fact, there’s no reason not to check one’s sources with all the information available at our fingertips. Another red flag is when the information is included in a meme, on some type of FB background. I’ve found most, if not all, of those type of posts to be FakeNews.
So, the latest FakeNews being circulated is a doctored video, or meme, where President Obama is made to say that “ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs” and should, thus, “surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign.”
That’s a barn-burner of a statement, right? In fact, he actually said the exact opposite of what the FakeNews meme is trying to accuse him of saying. Here is enough of his transcribed statement, in context, to make plain what he was saying:
“And it was here in Europe, through centuries of struggle, through war and enlightenment, repression and revolution, that a particular set of ideals began to emerge, the belief that through conscience and free will, each of us has the right to live as we choose, the belief that power is derived from the consent of the governed and that laws and institutions should be established to protect that understanding.
And those ideas eventually inspired a band of colonialists across an ocean, and they wrote them into the founding documents that still guide America today, including the simple truth that all men, and women, are created equal.
But those ideals have also been tested, here in Europe and around the world. Those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power. THIS ALTERNATIVE VISION ARGUES THAT ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN ARE TOO SMALL-MINDED TO GOVERN THEIR OWN AFFAIRS, THAT ORDER AND PROGRESS CAN ONLY COME WHEN INDIVIDUALS SURRENDER THEIR RIGHTS TO AN ALL-POWERFUL SOVEREIGN. Often this alternative vision roots itself in the notion that by virtue of race or faith or ethnicity, some are inherently superior to others and that individual identity must be defined by us versus them, or that national greatness must flow not by what people stand for, but what they are against.”
Pay close attention to the text that I have underlined, italicized, and emboldened, to see where he is going. Then look at the text I have capitalized and emboldened, the text that the FakeNews has yanked out of context to make Obama appear to say the very opposite of what he actually said.
Is this really how you want to spread your message, by making things up or reproducing what others have made up? Is that the way to win hearts and minds?
Please, Change My Mind!
Change My Mind! 