by Ruth A. Sheets
Today on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” I heard a report on the US
Catholic Bishops’ meeting coming up about abortion. One of the
interviewed women claimed that the Church’s position on abortion had been in
place for thousands of years “why should it change.” The interviewer
didn’t challenge the statement when a 10 second internet search would have
informed her and the interviewee that the Church did not outlaw abortion until
1869. I had known this since high school in the late 1960’s when abortion
became a serious topic of discussion, particularly for women.
This is a symptom of something occurring more and more frequently. Make or allow statements on air that could be refuted, but somehow just aren’t. It has been going on for a long time, at least since Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency. Mr. Trump made blatantly false statements from that day to the present and only recently has been regularly challenged on those statements, and only rarely are those lies called lies. I get it that people have opinions, but if those opinions are expressed in public, there is an obligation to make corrections when the statements are factually wrong.
That led me to think about the hypocrisy related to American Roman Catholic bishops. For example, Catholic Bishops and others in positions of authority in the Church knowingly moved abusive priests from one place to another for decades with little or no regard to the victims. Where was their outcry against these actions? So, women must carry to term but too bad that their children might be victims of the Church that forced them to give birth. Oh yes, and if an unmarried girl or woman became pregnant, no matter how violently, she was a sinner beyond redemption, spoiled goods only worthy of marrying their rapist or the teen boy involved with the pregnancy. Yes, that is so Christian, but it happened an uncountable number of times. Preach love and practice violence and indifference as the Bishops did when they stood by while their beloved Donald Trump tore children from their families and caged them like animals. Where are the Bishops when factories spew deadly pollution into the air and water consumed by their Catholic members who suffer horrific health problems? Where are the Bishops when people who are mentally ill or probably innocent are being put to death by our governments? Where were the Bishops in the past when Native American children were ripped from their homes and used and abused in “Indian” schools where thousands died? It seems to me that the Bishops have a lot of penance to do before they can deny Holy Communion to anyone. By then, they might be a bit more humane, more Christlike (maybe) and won’t be making such anti-woman pronouncements at all.
On January 6, 2021, as all Americans know, a mob of insurgents attacked the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, the location of the Senate and House of Representatives. Five people died and many Capitol Police officers were injured. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, despite having extensive video records of what happened, Republican Senators and Representatives, as well as some who were involved in the insurrection claimed the event was just like a tourist visit on a Wednesday afternoon. What! Of course they were gaslighting, lying! They know they and their leader were hoping they could stop Joe Biden from becoming president despite a 7 million vote Biden win in a fraud-free, secure election in November. They were planning to declare Martial Law after the mob-caused deaths of some members of Congress and even the Vice President, so Donald Trump could remain president. It took a lot of quick thinking and action that kept that from happening as the plotters had hoped. The insurgents are now holding the House of Representatives in contempt as they ignore subpoenas to learn just what led to and happened that Wednesday afternoon.
The gaslighting, claiming something everyone had seen was not what they actually saw has been part of American politics for years, but Republicans have been honing it to a fine sharp weapon they can wield with skill through news outlets and permissive social media that value money and views more than truth. Besides the lie is the point, particularly if they can get enough scared, resentful, angry white people to believe it. To date, they have managed to lure millions of them.
Book banning is the revived insanity that rears its head every now and then when conservatives are scared that the world is changing and literature is reflecting that change. As always, books by Black authors with Black main characters are the primary target. LGBT characters and strong women are bull's-eyed too. The reason the banners say, the books are pornography or they make white kids feel guilty or just bad.
Who are the banners? They are predominantly white men who see themselves as guardians of the children (or rather, their children). Women have been recruited too. No experience necessary! You don’t even have to have read the books you want banned, in fact, it’s best if you haven’t because then you can spout other people’s opinions with a straight face as though what you are saying is true. It’s racism but, of course, you are not a racist. It’s misogyny, but of course, you don’t hate women. It is homophobic, but some of your best friends are gay. Hypocrisy, yep, and with a touch of gaslighting too!
Some Republicans had no trouble back in March cheering for the rescue bill passed by Democrats to help families who had been seriously hurt by COVID. Republicans opposed it at every level but jumped right in to make it look like they were in favor all the time, after it had passed and people in their districts/states were beginning to benefit. Local media covered these hypocrites as though they were heroes. Oops, hypocrisy, but few seemed to be able to call it that.
So what do we do? We need to keep pushing media to do better in their reporting. Fair does not mean that both sides are of equal value. Since climate change (really global warming) is happening, anti-climate change people are not worth the time of any reporter to cover, so don’t do it. Voter restriction bills and laws around the country are racist and fraud is almost non-existent, so listening to people who keep spouting nonsense about voter fraud need to be given next to no time on air, in print, or on social media except for reporting the irresponsible behavior of state and local governments as irresponsible.
Abortion is medically safe, far safer than pregnancy, so anyone who serves up lies about needing clinics to be surgical centers should be ignored. They are lying. Men and a few women who claim the Church has ruled against abortion for “thousands of years” are lying and a correction should be part of the report if that kind of lie is even broadcast at all. COVID vaccines are safe and very effective. They do not connect people with outer space or allow tracking, or do anything else but save people from a deadly disease. Anything that says otherwise is a lie and needs to be stopped and called a lie.
We can curb the hypocrisy, gaslighting, OK, let’s call it what it is, lying if we step up and constantly call people on their lies. We don’t have to be mean about it, but we shouldn’t be too gentle either. People need to see that there is urgency in refuting the public lies put out there by our leaders and other public figures.
Lies may seem small and unimportant because they are being tossed out so frequently these days. Well, that is a bad way to look at it. Each lie is a blow to our family, neighbors, friends and others living in this country. They are tossed out there to misdirect, to undermine, to cover up more serious crimes, to control other people, to keep white men and the women who support them in charge of everything that matters in America. If we know this, we can all stand up and say “no more!” We need full participation of the diversity of this nation: all races, genders, ethnicities, ages, political persuasions, education, backgrounds, jobs, and more. It is the diversity that will make a healthy positive future for this country and the world possible. Let’s choose that instead of a society where hypocrisy and gaslighting, lies for the benefit of a few, are the norm.
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