It is a simple fact that if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. Our former President and his loyal followers used that technique to dupe millions. People who wanted to trust that he was different. That he really would drain the swamp and make government work for them.

If you were/are among the victims of those lies, I am sorry. If you believe the lies, then, of course, you assume everyone who doesn’t is telling different lies.

But now we have two ‘realities’. And one of those realities led to an unprecedented assault on our Capitol, a seditious act, by people who were lied to relentlessly and encouraged by their President. The President!

Despite having a new President, the lies continue. We have lawmakers and right-wing media who still deny that the election was free and fair and pretend January 6th wasn’t an assault on our democracy. Who deny these indisputable facts. People like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Marjorie Greene, and the other 147 members of Congress who voted to overturn the election results. They know better, at least most of them. Some of them actually seem to still believe the lies. And all of them repeat the lies because they want the votes of the people caught up in the lies of our former President. They care more about power than the truth and serving the American people.

Of course, if you deny those simple facts, you’ve probably already condemned me and unsubscribed.

But lies are a big problem. The cause of the two ‘realities’. How can you tell if you are being lied to? Especially when people you respect believe the lies?

It isn’t easy. It is hard to believe and hard to accept that you’ve fallen victim to a scam.

Thus, the first step is to accept the possibility that you have been lied to. When we are too certain, too righteous, and too quick to repeat what we hear, we can’t possibly entertain the notion that we’ve gotten caught up in a lie. We have to be honest with ourselves and skeptical of what we read and hear. We have to ask questions. And we must pay close attention to the sources of our information.

A democracy can not survive on lies. On two realities. Facts matter and I firmly believe it is possible to find and agree on the facts.

I hope you are healthy and continuing to endure this pandemic reasonably well! I know the odds are that some of you aren’t. I am so sorry for those who have suffered, whether your personal health, financial well-being, or the loss of a loved one. I have been fortunate to avoid a direct hit to my immediate family and household situation, but I’ve witnessed and felt plenty of pain just beyond that inner circle, including the loss of my sister-in-law.

I expect dramatic change in the next two months thanks to vaccinations and the natural immunity of survivors. That is, of course, as long as we are finally on top of our game and able to test for, trace, and isolate these new mutations. Every newly sickened person allows the virus to replicate countless times. And every replication is an opportunity for the emergence of a new mutation potentially more deadly than the last. Wear a mask! Stay outdoors! Keep your distance! Get vaccinated when you have the chance! Our lives depend on it!