The democratization of creativity has been a beautiful societal phenomenon. Aided by brilliantly simple technology tools and platforms that are broadly subscribed, almost anyone can be a film producer, graphic designer or newscaster.
This also means almost anyone can purport to have authority, clarity, verified honesty and integrity. Feigning authority and clarity is easy. Just use strong words and graphics. If it’s on Facebook, of course its real? But, verified honesty and integrity is more likely embedded with news professionals who take their jobs seriously, are dedicated to journalism as a career, and have taken a moral oath to tell real truths.
Therefore, it is not surprising “fake news” has emerged as on of this election’s most controversial and influential factors. Facebook claims that only 1% of the news cast on their platform is fake. With 1.7 billion users, that still means there are 17 million people being allowed to publish fake information and Facebook is deriving revenue from many of these messengers.
Its great! One can say anything one wants and that’s Freedom of Speech, right? Heck, even the head of the FBI joined the party this year with his special version of fake news, timed perfectly. And Donald J. Trump is one of the fake news All Stars, just making crap up that sounds exciting, such as Muslims dancing in the street after 9/11.
PolitiFact is one of the central watch-dogs fact checking fake news. Since the Tampa Bay Times started PolitiFact in 2007, no other major politician has a worse record for accuracy than Donald Trump, with more than 70 percent of his claims rated on their scale as Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire.
Guess what people? FAKE IS THE NEW REAL
On January 20th less than half of the country is going to honor the inauguration of a new president who lost the election by more than three million votes, due (in part) to the intervention of cyber attacks by Russian operatives and complicit bias by the head of the F.B.I., and more fake news than one can count.
Sadly, Donald Trump is not ready to be a president. He’s a Fake President. He was “faked” into the office. Just like the fake news that spins opinion of his sagacious and histrionic babble (look those words up Donald).
Hey, I get that he’s untraditional and wants to shake things up, drain a swamp somewhere and replace it with rich people Goldman Sachs and Exxon. But there’s a difference in the human dignity that’s been associated with the office of our nation’s leader for the past 250 years. Presidents are characterized as being intelligent, humane, empathetic and STABLE. These characteristics transcend political ideology. There are clear differences between Real Presidents and the Fake One about to step in.
Real Presidents
Real presidents commend and respect citizens, encouraging them to achieve their fullest potential. For example, George HW Bush established the American Disabilities Act, preventing discrimination against people with disabilities. Fake President publicly insults people with disabilities and threatens to cut funding to the Department of Education that supports children with disabilities.
Real Presidents are concerned about the overall health of citizens and encourage opportunities to protect our environment from harm. Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency. Jimmy Carter formed the Super Funds Act to clean up the nation’s toxic waste. Fake President denies that global warming exists (“its a Chinese hoax”), pledges to pull out from the Paris accords, nominates the head of one of our world’s greatest polluters to be Secretary of State and nominates someone who has sued the Environmental Protection Agency to a cabinet post that would oversee that agency.
Real Presidents respect our diverse population and sets an example for civility among our nation. Fake President wants to deport millions of people because they are not white (address Muslim here) , criticizes/insults one of our greatest Civil Rights luminaries and characterizes Latinos as “mostly killers and rapists”.
Real Presidents have at least some experience governing citizens and establishing policies or laws that benefit their constituency. Fake President has zero such experience. SURPRISE!
Real Presidents provide a sense of stability and thoughtfulness regarding the US role as a military superpower. Fake President advocates escalation of nuclear arms and wishes to destroy our relationships and peace treaties.
Real Presidents transform uncertainty into hope. Ronald Reagan’s, “It’s Morning in America,” was cheesy, yet optimistic, and his fiscal strategies propelled the nation into economic growth. Bill Clinton ran on the promise of Hope. In his first inaugural address he said, “To renew America, we must revitalize our democracy.” His campaign centered on health care and education, with the belief that a smarter country is a more prosperous and peaceful country. Our nation subsequently enjoyed 8 years of prosperity. Fake President wants to abolish the Department of Education. He personally claims no need for intelligence briefings because, “I am, like, a smart person.”
Real Presidents respect Freedom of the Press and answer journalistic questions with intelligence. Fake President tries to turn the tables on fake news, accusing professional journalists of what he and his cronies have been doing for months - extolling fabrications and hyperbole. Fake President inanely says, “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media writes as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.”
People. Fake President is real. His goal is division, not unity. He plans to serve only a portion of our citizens, mostly enriching himself and his family. He will be breaking the oath of office on Day One by not revealing his financial ties or unraveling his conflicts of interest. He hides behind the mystery of his tax returns and indignantly refuses to disclose or eliminate his conflicts of interest.
Let’s not enable Fake President to be stifling. Its time for innovation and creativity that will nullify the impending threat to our sanity, democracy, safety and prosperity. We need to perceive an alternative to this harsh reality and gather the courage to move toward those visions. There will be common ground and opportunities to co-create as even his supporters will soon realize they’ve been fooled by hollow promises and A LOT of Fake News
This is a moment to muster massive creativity and drive innovation in our policies, strategies, actions and voices. This is a moment to defend Real from Fake.