{"id":1780,"date":"2024-06-12T15:13:39","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T22:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/?p=1780"},"modified":"2025-02-27T16:07:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T00:07:35","slug":"the-great-american-deceit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/the-great-american-deceit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great American Deceit"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Words, Lies, and Crimes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The law is defined by words understood by means of their contemporary usage, context, and historical evolution. In \u201cThe Supreme Court: A Bulwark of Liberty, or Not<\/a>\u201d (July 4, 2022), I stated that \u201c<\/span>Justice Alito not only finds Roe v. Wade an egregious error, but the long held legal doctrine of <\/span>stare decisis<\/span><\/i> no longer relevant.\u201d Precedent, therefore, he can selectively ignore in his judicial opinion. In overturning the Supreme Court precedent of Roe and disregarding Casey, the Justice reclaimed the 19<\/span>th<\/span> century condemnation of abortion rather than the 20<\/span>th<\/span> and 21<\/span>st<\/span> century medical practice that can save lives and future pregnancies. In current <\/span>usage<\/span><\/i><\/b>, \u201cabortion\u201d is defined as a medical practice that empowers women to abort an unwanted\u2014and still unviable fetus\u2014or end an imperiled pregnancy. Most abortions, in fact, are the result of medical decisions involving the unviability of the fetus and the well-being or even survival of the mother. Justice Alito seems unaware of this current <\/span>context<\/span><\/i><\/b>. The definition of the word \u201cabortion,\u201d as a result, can be viewed through different lenses, as either a family planning method and life-saving measure made possible by contemporary science <\/span>or, <\/span><\/i>in Alito\u2019s view,<\/span> an infanticidal abomination condemned by long-standing religious beliefs. Our words fail to characterize the magnitude of \u201cabortion\u2019s\u201d <\/span>historical evolution<\/span><\/i><\/b> from a mortal sin into a family planning tool and lifesaving medical practice. Alito ignores this evolution and views abortion of a fetus as the murder of a \u201cpotential human being,\u201d rather than \u201cthe expulsion of a nonviable fetus,\u201d as currently defined in the dictionary. He made the kind of error that only a textualist could, that is, one rooted in original meaning. A fetus is no more a potential human being than a man\u2019s sperm or a woman\u2019s egg. The building plans and materials required to construct a building are not the finished product we know at 3<\/span>rd<\/span> and Main Street. Likewise, Doctors now know when a fetus becomes viable, meaning capable of living outside of the womb as a functioning human being. Alito is just a time-warped revisionist whose words reek with deceit.\u00a0Harsh? Perhaps so, but he is intelligent enough to know the difference between how abortion was defined in the nineteenth century versus the twenty-first. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some so-called \u201cconservatives\u201d on the Supreme Court prefer textualism to define the legal meaning of the words that define our laws and their Constitutional derivatives. I agree with them to the extent that root meanings and initial usage allow us to understand the basis from which the meaning of contemporary words evolve, and laws are derived. But word derivative evolution also reflects society\u2019s evolution\u2014which explains why 20th and 21st century jurisprudence had superseded laws chastising women and their doctors over the abortions of problematic pregnancies. The progress of our science can now define \u201cviability,\u201d that is, when a fetus has become a human and able to live as such outside of the womb. Roe v. Wade affirmed this progress whereby women\u2019s fertility and pregnancies were preserved and made safer. Premature childbirths were facilitated, and many women\u2019s lives were saved. But, since the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, women\u2019s prenatal care must now exclude the abortion of an unviable fetus. And the incidences of pregnant women\u2019s deaths have since increased. The word \u201cabortion\u201d no longer refers to a safe 20<\/span>th<\/span> and 21<\/span>st<\/span> century medical practice to save a woman\u2019s life or prevent an unsecured\u2014even precarious\u2014future of an unwanted and still unviable fetus being taken to term. In Justice Alito\u2019s opinion, the fetus is \u201ca potential human being,\u201d wherein he effectively misconstrues \u201cpotential\u201d as \u201creal.\u201d Therefore, he concludes that abortion is not feticide but infanticide. And this misuse of language equates \u201cabortion\u201d with murder. But its real purpose is to preserve the life of a pregnant woman or secure her plans for family and motherhood. Is an unviable fetus more important than the life of the mother or her ability to care for a newborn? In the words of Benjamin Cardozo, \u201c(t)he difference from age to age is not so much in the recognition of the need that law shall conform itself to an end. It is rather in the nature of the end to which there has been need to conform.\u201d\u00b9 <\/span>So, is abortion prolife or murder? Therein lurks a word deceit that becomes a lie\u2014<\/span>that can falsely morph into a crime<\/span><\/i>, a phenomenon that now pervades America\u2019s public discourse and politics, including our Supreme Court.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are further examples of this phenomenon. For example, an election, properly conducted, reviewed, and validated is termed \u201crigged,\u201d which is a preposterous lie. \u201cStop the steal,\u201d \u201conly I can,\u201d \u201clock her up,\u201d and \u201cmake America great again,\u201d are phrases that hide purposeful deceits, that is, persuasive lies. Some politicians, like Trump\u2019s sycophants, employ this ruse to gain campaign funds and win governing power. If successful, their lies can and will serve their own interests rather than the general welfare. But liars cannot be trusted, for their deceit hides self-serving motives. Given the powers of office, any politician can be induced to serve his\/her interests rather than those of his\/her constituents. Unfortunately, any liar can be more easily induced to cover up his\/her malfeasance . . . even to the extent of committing a crime. Confronted with the woman he abused, for example, Donald Trump claimed \u201cI never met that woman\u201d —a lie that would be a felony if spoken under oath<\/span><\/span>. Unfortunately for Trump, a picture of them together had readily evidenced his lie. In like manner, pro-life advocacy claims to save lives while maternal deaths rise across the country. There is no evidence, however, that an unviable fetus can survive a live birth. To believe otherwise is a lie. And Roe never forced women to have an abortion, whereas Dobbs denies women the choice\u2014based upon a religious belief. But not all religions agree with this belief\u2014which is their right as guaranteed in our Constitution. How does Alito\u2019s opinion survive a First Amendment argument that he violates its guarantee of \u201cfreedom of religion\u201d? Are the words and lies enumerated here not equivalent to crimes that debase our politics and diminish the freedoms we Americans expect and demand of our democracy? <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Federal level, America has several politicians currently indicted for crimes. Two from the Democratic Party are now awaiting trial, as is Donald Trump, the former Republican President who still awaits more trials after recent convictions. He has been accused of 36 felony counts in two Federal indictments involving the handling of top-secret documents and inciting an insurrection to overturn a legal election. He also faces similar election interference charges in the State of Georgia. While awaiting trial for these alleged crimes, he has since been convicted on 34 felony counts because he \u201crepeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.\u201d\u00b2<\/span> \u00a0In addition, he has been <\/span>held liable for sexual abuse, as referenced above, and for extensive fraud in the conduct of his New York business. These latter convictions carry financial penalties of over half a trillion dollars. In a few days, this former President will once again be nominated to be the Republican candidate for President. How is it possible that Americans would consider voting for a convicted felon who has been held liable for sexual abuse and outlandish business and tax fraud? Even before his rise to the Presidency, he was found liable for fraud in his management of Trump University and the Trump Foundation\u2014which was run as Trump\u2019s \u201cpersonal checking account,\u201d according to the Court\u2019s judgement. These liable judgements were just the tip of more than 3,000 legal cases the Trump organization had previously entertained. But Trump was elected based upon his unique \u201ccharisma\u201d despite his habit of skirting the law.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Donald Trump once claimed he used \u201cthe best words\u201d and had a \u201cgreat brain.\u201d Recently, before a crowd of his supporters, he explained how he would solve the conundrum of dying by electrocution or by a shark bite. His solution, he argued, would impress \u201cMIT,\u201d that is, he would satisfy the shark with his leg. Then he added,<\/span>\u00a0“I want your vote. I don’t care about you. I just want your vote.\u201d These non-sequiturs are just words pouring from his stream of consciousness. They are not relevant to the moment and lack any reference either to his campaign or reality. The words he more carefully uses\u2014such as \u201crevenge,\u201d \u201cfake news,\u201d \u201cdeep state,\u201d \u201cTrump haters,\u201d and so on\u2014amplify his warped worldview and provide false justification for all the grievances he suffers, allegedly, for the sake of others. He uses words that paint him as a <\/span>martyr<\/span><\/i>, which some of his followers now liken to be \u201cChrist-like.\u201d But Trump\u2019s \u201cbest words\u201d are not intended to reflect reality. Rather, their purpose is to either entertain or rile up passion for his cause. Often, they do both while condemning, ridiculing, or demeaning his alleged \u201chaters.\u201d They are all lies, except for the fact that he does want your vote and more. Specifically, he says he wants a \u201cbloodbath\u201d if he loses the next election. Moreover, he wants his sycophants to rig the next election, as they tried to do so in his last campaign. He has already committed his \u201cfollowers\u201d to this end by appointing them to key positions within the Republican Party. He now has a small army to rig his election and effect the intent of all his lies. Should he win, he promises to take no prisoners.\u00a0His words, then, run the gamut from a stream of consciousness rabble to lies, hateful provocations, and then to more crimes. \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This American deceit is a culmination of misused words, lies, and crimes committed <\/span>against <\/span><\/i>the electorate in service of political power. In a democracy, \u201cpeople rule,\u201d but not necessarily in their best interest if ill-informed, told lies, and are victimized by crooks.<\/strong> When Donald Trump became President in 2017, he appointed his White House contingent with the sole purpose of deconstructing American Institutions. In \u201cCompetency and the American Presidency<\/a>\u201d (2\/9\/2017), I listed his cabinet appointments and summarized their contempt for the institutions they were appointed to manage (to save time, you might start reading from the third paragraph). While Trump was promising to make America great, he was planning its demise. What partially saved America was the utter incompetency of these appointments. Some of them even ran afoul of the law. He also had \u201cadvisors\u201d who shared his views and served his interest. Twelve of his Presidential staff were later convicted of crimes while in office. On his last days in office, he pardoned many of these sycophants. But now they are ready to return to the task of subverting American institutions to serve a wannabe dictator. After Trump\u2019s failed coup in 2020, he is now better prepared to reinstate his fellow criminals and take a second attempt at deconstructing America\u2019s Constitutional system of government. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Trump and his stooges, \u201cdemocracy\u201d is just a facade that will hide their rule over a government that serves their craven interests instead of the general welfare of the American people. As President he will sell his great lie that America can progress under his deconstruction of its institutions of government. But, instead, he will introduce into American politics an unprecedented era of criminality and self-enrichment. How is it possible that so many Americans seem ready to bury our democracy under the foot of this craven dictator?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I may not be a psychologist, but I have encountered two recent studies that may explain how many of us are willing to follow this madman, like the wild buffaloes crafty Indians would herd over a cliff. The first study refers to the \u201chalo effect,\u201d\u00b3<\/span>\u00a0 namely, \u201cif we like a certain quality in a person, we\u2019re more likely to perceive their unrelated traits positively as well.\u201d Thereby Trump\u2019s clownish behavior, as referenced above, is found entertaining. (In fact, I witnessed people nodding their heads in approval of his unfinished tale about sharks and electrocution.) And his grievances against the \u201cdeep state\u201d may well mirror those of his audience. For instance, the border crisis has bedeviled decades of Administrations; and economic instability has routinely destabilized markets and individual family budgets since the founding of America (reference American Exceptionalism Revisited<\/a>, 9\/27\/2021). The second study, \u201caffinity bias,\u201d\u00b3<\/span>\u00a0 depicts how we are attracted to people with similar background or characteristics. Most of us are not college graduates and even fewer of us were educated in the liberal arts. Although Trump is a college graduate, his speech patterns and topics are often undisciplined and\/or mundane. His historical references– \u201cthe likes of which have never been seen before\u201d –are often vague and unsupported. Although we have had Presidents who were scholars, like Woodrow Wilson or Barack Obama, we all identify with Presidents whose personal traits and character we can admire like FDR and Reagan. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My fellow Americans, we cannot afford to be deceived by a liar who wants our confirmation that he should not only be our President, but above the law, as well. His record in office is replete with misleading aphorisms, lies, statutory crimes, and political appointees to the Supreme Court. As a fellow senior, I recognize the limitations of both candidates for the Presidency. But only one of these men speaks the language of a patriot and has the wisdom and experience to lead this country. Recently, a consortium of Presidential historians rated the contributions of all our Presidents since America\u2019s founding. Donald Trump was rated dead last, behind Harding, and those who died prematurely in office. Until the Federal Reserve reduces interest rates, inflation will continue to haunt the many achievements of our current President. Nevertheless, the same Presidential historians rate Joe Biden the 14<\/span>th<\/span> best President in American history. Our country needs his experience and wisdom at the helm during these challenging times.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Postscript: His previous running mate was rated the 10<\/span><\/i>th<\/span><\/i> best.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________________________<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1 <\/span>Stephen Breyer, \u201cReading the Constitution, Why I Chose Pragmatism, <\/span>Not <\/span><\/i>Textualism,\u201d p. 109.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2<\/span> The Supreme Court of the State of New York County of New York, \u201cThe People of the State of New York against Donald Trump, Defendant,\u201d as quoted in \u201cThe Trump Indictments,\u201d p. 320.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3 \u201cLearning Favoritism: The way we\u2019re built to learn may divide us,\u201d Scientific American,\u201d June 20, 2024. p.15.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Words, Lies, and Crimes The law is defined by words understood by means of their contemporary usage, context, and historical evolution. In \u201cThe Supreme Court: A Bulwark of Liberty, or Not\u201d (July 4, 2022), I stated that \u201cJustice Alito not only finds Roe v. Wade an egregious error, but the long held legal doctrine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domesticissues"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3UqUK-sI","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1780"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1841,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1780\/revisions\/1841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}