3 Weeks Until November 5th and I'm Nauseous
Planning for a new path
If you have been a regular reader of mine for the past few months, you know how I feel about Trump. But frankly, I’m sick of it. There are 3 weeks until the U.S. election, and I’m nauseous considering the possibility of Trump, front and center, for another 4 years.
Nobody can keep up with his firehose of lies. And that’s precisely the point. Trump knows the media and writers like myself can’t keep up. He knows the more we try, the more we appear to be the crazy people; diagnosed by him and his supporters with “Trump Derangement Syndrome” or “TDS.”
It’s a deflection tactic. A way of saying, “You’re so obsessed with me to the point there must be something wrong with you.”
The constant attention on Trump only helps him. His supporters see him as being treated “unfairly”, and ganged up on by mainstream media. Even when his dangerous lies are exposed, he says something else even more outrageous that prevents us from fully addressing and swatting down the previous lie.
With MAGA as a legitimate part of the Republican Party, we are living in a post-truth world. The Revenge of Power by Moisés Naím explains how the witch’s brew of populism, polarization, and post-truth allows aspiring autocrats like Donald Trump to thrive. Under these conditions, figures like Trump become bigger than any one party — their cults of personality provide a pathway to power for others to ride.
Accordingly, leaders like Trump can do no wrong in their supporters’ eyes.
It’s led me to brainstorm how this problem can be addressed. Not only in the here and now but in the future. Whether or not Trump wins the election, although it will be even more critical if he does prevail.
In a post-truth society, it’s not sufficient to use logic and reason with everyone. With JD Vance, for example, you cannot point to the 60+ court cases that Trump and his team lost when challenging the 2020 election results. Despite having a Yale Law degree, Vance doesn’t give weight to the practically unanimous decisions by an independent judiciary (which included Trump-appointed judges).
You cannot have a good-faith argument with someone like that. They are operating in a different reality.
So what do we do? Especially if JD Vance becomes Vice President?
We have to promote critical thinking for everyone else.
It’s like the old adage about the fisherman helping a boy. He could give the boy fish every day and keep him well-fed. But that’s a ton of daily work for the fisherman.
Alternatively, he could teach the boy how to fish and he’s suddenly equipped to feed himself for life.
We need to teach more people how to fish.
Perhaps I’m profoundly naive in thinking that most people would even want to try. You might argue that most people don’t want to think or work too hard. They’re stuck in their ways and want to be told what to like, what to do, and who to vote for.
I’m not denying there’s a large group of people in America (and globally) that falls in that category. But there’s also a large group of people who want to be able to do the following, and for whatever reason, have never had the opportunity.
Identify misinformation and disinformation (including understanding the difference between the two)
Spot common logical fallacies (e.g., ad hominem, false dichotomy, etc.)
Understand basic cognitive biases like confirmation bias, anchoring, etc.
Know how to evaluate sources and judge credibility
Interpret data effectively so it’s easier to spot misleading conclusions or visualizations
The list of critical thinking challenges in the modern era is endless. They are particularly amplified in a post-truth society, which is exactly where we’ll find ourselves if Trump wins in 3 weeks.
Instead of swatting down his every lie or outrageous statement, I want to talk about critical thinking more. I want to promote its techniques, philosophies, and strategies.
I plan to share how we can all think more critically (myself included) and do so in a digestible manner fit for the modern era.
This is unlikely to help or benefit people who start with a conclusion (e.g., Trump or bust) and then scour the internet and society to support it at all costs. Unfortunately, most (if not all) of those folks are beyond assistance.
But for those who are interested in sharpening their critical skills, I hope we can build a community of objective critical thinkers here and at polispandit.com.
That was my original vision when I started PolisPandit over a decade ago. I wanted to use my liberal arts and legal background to educate where I could.
I am certainly not always right, but I always make an effort to approach issues in good faith and with a consistent critical thinking framework. Sometimes reasonable minds can differ. At other moments, time can reveal who was right or wrong.
Regardless of the outcome, a critical thinking framework can reasonably ensure that the thought process is consistent and disciplined. While not foolproof, that type of consistent approach is far more likely to achieve outstanding results than any alternative.
So in a post-truth era of politicians being able to convince people that 2+2 = 5, I hope you’ll join me in improving our critical thinking toolkits.
Democracy requires an informed citizenry. While we cannot expect a 100% success rate, the more people who can sharpen their critical thinking skills, the more stable and prosperous democracy will be, now and in the future.
Let’s make critical thinking cool again.
Read more:
Submit Your Best Political Writing — The Political Prism by John Polonis
‘The Tariff Man’ Touts a Tug-a-War by Katharine Valentino
Does Elon Musk Help or Harm Trump? by Isaac Saul
Why Is Economics Controversial? by Keegan Justis