Like millions of others, I’m happy Joe Biden won the presidential election. But some very unwise comments before the vote could have resulted in a Republican victory. That’s because many Americans were gullible enough to believe absurd charges made against Democrats.
First was the idea that “defunding the police” means abolishing them. To most, however, the idea refers to ways of reallocating funds to help police resolve conflicts and to help take some of their burdens away by limiting the kinds of calls they answer: for example, answering domestic-abuse calls. It just happens that many of the things done by police can be more cheaply and efficiently done by others. This has already worked in many communities.
A second was morphing the idea that guidelines for limiting church gatherings or requirements to hold them outside into Democrats somehow declaring war on God or religion. Like with football stadiums, rock concerts, and large restaurants, the primary goal is simply to regulate areas that allow the coronavirus to spread wildly. From that perspective, church services are no different than other large events, so churches were advised to change their means of congregating, temporarily. Churches weren’t arbitrarily shut down.
Think about it. If any political party truly wanted what many Republicans claimed, it would be committing political suicide. It would be exceptionally stupid to try and prevent cops from answering distress calls or deny religious freedoms. Many Democrats are also religious and also need to make 911 calls. If Democrats tried to eliminate these things, they would be stupid beyond belief.
President George W. Bush didn’t allow 9/11, and President Donald Trump shouldn’t be charged with (hypothetically) eating babies in the basement of the White House. However, there’s no limit when it comes to stupidly believing the worst about our political adversaries.
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Peter W. Johnson
Superior
