Enabling Has Consequences
By: A World Connected Only Social Media
Tags: Republicans, Consequences, Trump, Politics, Enabling

I once thought that enabling was OK if it was just once in a while and for little things like saying you did really great in a school play when you were not good at all. (That person might think he/she could become an actor.) Now enabling has taken on a whole new meaning, political enabling. By you not telling the truth or calling out a person for lies or falsehoods, you let these people being enabled think their actions/words are OK. And that leads to consequences.

We have a group of politicians who have been enabling Mr. Trump for the last five years. They are so afraid of him and his base that whatever he said is/was OK. If the statement was a lie, OK. If Trump bullied another, OK. He was not called out for such behavior. His lies became the norm. No other person in politics or business could lie like he does/did and still get away with it. No consequences.

This has led to his base believing most of Trump’s lies. They, along with the politicians, have become enablers to feed Trump ego, thus making his lies sound like truth. Many people can determine the truth by researching the story or statement, however too many rely on the voice of the individual as truth because we either like the person, so he/she can’t be lying, or we are lazy to look up the facts.

The point of this story is to remind you to be careful of the stories that could lead to negative consequences, like the storming of the Capitol Building. Words are powerful and people are hurt by negative words, either physically or emotionally. Before you do something rash, check out the story for the facts. Just because your tribe tells you something that could have consequences, ask yourself: Does the story make sense? Is the story reasonable for what you know of your surroundings? Does it pass the logic test? What are the sources from all sides?

Example: A neighbor a few years back heard that the state of Texas was under siege by the military, and she believed this story. There are several large military bases in Texas. The governor was calling out loyal Texans to take up arms to battle the military. I asked her what was her source. A friend. I asked her if there was anything on news outlets about this story. No. Did she go to any sources to check out this story? No. So why did she believe the story? She didn’t know, just because. She believed that something like an uprising could happen without provocation. Of course this Texas uprising was not happening, but the next time I saw her, she still believed it happen, that the government and the news outlets were not letting anybody know about it.

So now we have the story about the election being stolen from Trump, the story started by Trump and perpetuated by Trump. And because Trump had told so many falsehoods before without being challenged, most of his base believe him without searching for the truth. All credible sources (the courts, Justice Department, Supreme Court, National Intelligence Agency) stated the elections were fair and without fraud.

So why are there politicians still saying the election was stolen? What new proof beyond what was presented to the courts do they have? They are enabling Trump and his base to believe they have been wronged, and it led to the storming of the Capitol Building. It could have been more serious if the rioters had encountered some of the politicians in the building. We don’t know.

Bottom line, if somebody is lying for personal gain especially if the person is an influencer, call that person our. Have a backbone. I believe the republicans did not call out Trump because they were afraid of a primary election challenge by Trump loyalists and might lose their seat. It should be country before party. The loyalty should be to country first, not an elected position.

Today it’s the republicans who are enabling. Tomorrow it could be the democrats. Most politicians are only interested in their party and getting re-elected. Politicians who place party over country should be kicked out of office, at all levels and from any party.