Letter to the Editor / TRUTH and DEMOCRACY

By Roger C. Kostmayer

Democracy isn’t just one thing (like the Rule of Law, free and fair elections or the Bill of Rights).  It is a chain of rights, freedoms and responsibilities that, when taken together, their value is greater than their sum and becomes the most fair and effective form of government devised so far.  Like any chain, however, it is only as strong and enduring as its weakest link.

For example, something that seems as simple and obvious as Truth by governments and public servants, can become a critical weak link that causes the loss of democracy.  If our society loses trust in a single set of facts and becomes infected with lies and misinformation, then voting, the core of democracy, becomes impotent.  The result could be the death of democracy even if elections are held, as in Russia.  The point is, we came very close to losing our democracy as truth was succumbing – to lies from our leaders, to foreign intervention, to abuses of power and to unConstitutional authoritarianism.

The “truth decay” that evolved over the last four years must be vigorously and promptly corrected so the American electorate, regardless of party or perspective, regains confidence in a single set of facts, and in the transparent truth.  Both journalism and media technology companies are largely responsible and should be held accountable for helping create Constitutional solutions.

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