Bernie Rabik: Exactly how far you can push a lie before consequences kick in
Former President Trump is a cautionary tale of what can happen when you cross too many lines, tell too many disprovable lies, and refuse to back down. He must face the music, including a potential criminal indictment of a former president, a first in our democracy’s history.
But, even if Mr. Trump’s career is ruined, his legacy of brazen, unrepentant dishonesty will live on- strengthened, in some way, by the knowledge of exactly how far you can push a lie(s) before consequences kick in.
There is truth to the “threat to democracy” President Joe Biden outlined in his primetime speech on Thursday, Sept. 1. The core point of Biden’s speech targeting “MAGA Republicans” is “true.”
John J. Harwood of CNN, which was followed moments later by his departure from CNN, said: “Now that’s something [MAGA Republicans] ― as journalists ― to say. We’re brought up to believe there’s two different political parties with different points of view and we don’t take sides in honest disagreements between them.
“But that’s not what we’re talking about. These are not honest disagreements,” he said.
Harwood’s take was that the GOP is “led by a dishonest demagogue.”
Trump not only can’t explain truth. Actually, he can’t even talk about it. Thus, he has become a clear and present danger to our democracy, all of us.
You must be willing to own your tomorrow. Focusing on the past risks making faith a museum piece. You must not be dedicated to suppressing the truth. Remember that standing up to extremism can make you look extreme. A cascade of failures will attack you causing you frustration.
Let me introduce you to Janis Babson, who became a symbol of selflessness to all who knew her. The daughter of Randy Babson, a rugged Mountie corporal, and his wife, Rita, Janis was a slender exuberant child for whom each waking day was a joy. When she was 8, Janis was overcome by strange tiredness and sudden mysterious headaches. She received the diagnosis that she was suffering from leukemia and had only a year to live.
It was Janis who supported her parents through this agonizing period, making her last days a great and enduring gift. How she decided to donate her eyes to the Ottawa Eye Bank; how she endured the pain without complaint and brightened the days of all around her are revealed during her last days.
If Janis had any fear, it was that she might be forgotten. But Janis’ life will be remembered as a constant source of comfort, courage, and profound inspiration ― all of which compulsive liars must be introduced to.
Sometimes it’s not about what’s easy. It’s about what’s right. Nothing changes except what has to. This is our time. We must choose our own destiny, preserving our democracy.
As bad as things are, there is always the future.
Bernard Rabik, a Hopewell Township attorney, is a columnist for The Times.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Rabik: Exactly how far you can push a lie before consequences kick in
