Opinion: The 'Big Lie' threatens to destroy our democracy

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." – John 8:32

"We can either be loyal to Donald Trump or we can be loyal to the Constitution, but we cannot be both." – Liz Cheney, Republican US representative from Wyoming

I attended a small college in central Ohio, and many days I walked past that quote from the Book of John inscribed on a wall, and I puzzled over it. I now find myself reflecting on those words more than ever and better absorbing their meaning, admittedly in a not-so-religious context.

The deep political polarization in this country is disturbing, and that might be one of the few things both ends of the political spectrum would agree is true. But the rift in the country is being caused largely by an utter disregard for other truths. The truth, as has been demonstrated over the last several years, is unacknowledged and disregarded by a frighteningly large number of people and public officials.

In the 2020 presidential election, the official count shows Joseph Biden received 81,268,924 votes and Donald Trump 74,216,154. Electoral votes amounted to 306 for Biden; 232 for Trump. The numbers, as it’s said, don’t lie.

After Trump lawyers contested results in several states, scores of courts affirmed them. Officials at the federal and state levels, Republican and Democrat, denied any significant fraud had occurred.

Yet Trump and his supporters continue to deny the results despite this bipartisan agreement on who won. Their position is well-known as adhering to the "Big Lie." What they are doing, obviously, is refusing to acknowledge a truth as it gapes at their faces. Polls show a majority of people who call themselves Republicans maintain Biden was not the winner.

What isn’t so obvious to far too many people is the potentially ruinous effect that’s having on the country.

One ugly effect was the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, perpetrated by Trump supporters who bought into the part of the "Big Lie" that claims rampant voting fraud occurred. Again, allegations of fraud were repeatedly proven baseless by judges and officials from both parties.

The next steps for GOP extremists who hold state office have been, in the name of "election integrity," to replace nonpartisan election officials with partisans who might be more willing and able to throw out votes that don’t go their way. A healthy democracy needs fair, nonpartisan referees.

These moves coincide with GOP controlled state legislatures’ efforts to make voting harder – especially for segments of the voting public who might be more inclined to vote for Democrats – and continued gerrymandering to favor Republican candidates. (Ohio is just one example of a state where gerrymandered districts are currently being challenged.)

The bottom-line result of all these GOP efforts is to deny a fundamental right to people fortunate enough to live in a democratic republic: the right to free and fair elections.

David Frum, a former speech writer for President George W. Bush and now a senior editor at The Atlantic, points out that this country possesses no special immunities to authoritarianism and demagoguery. The Republican Party, Frum wrote, "must recommit itself to democracy."

Regardless of his or her positions on the issues, any GOP candidate for any level of office who denies the results of the 2020 election and who would favor Trump as a candidate for president in 2024 does not deserve election in 2022.

What they are doing in abetting the "Big Lie" is taking a sledgehammer to the very foundation of our democracy. As they turn a blind eye to the truth, all of us could soon be less free.

David Caudill, a freelance writer/editor and a former Enquirer staffer, lives in Mount Lookout.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: The 'Big Lie' threatens to destroy our democracy