The 6 big lies
Society advances when we make rational decisions based on an honest assessment of our problems. Unfortunately, many Americans exhibit delusional thinking on important issues (i.e. false beliefs despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary). The belief that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. Presidential election is called “the big lie”, but there are at least 6 big lies about important issues affecting U.S. society:
Lie #1. Donald Trump won the 2020 Presidential election.
Why this is untrue:
Trump himself acknowledged that he might lose the election before it occurred and knew that he lost after the election occurred.
Trump’s major supporters have repeatedly admitted that he lost the election, including Sean Hannity, Attorney General William Barr and many others.
Lie #2. There was massive fraud in the 2020 Presidential election.
Why this is untrue:
Despite exhaustive review, there is little evidence of election fraud.
None of the 50+ legal cases alleging substantial fraud have been successful, even before Trump appointed judges.
It is not possible for fraud on this scale to only involve the Presidential race and no other election contests on the same ballot. Yet no other candidates seriously made claims of fraud.
As a practical matter, it is difficult to fraudulently create even one ballot, much less a large number of ballots. Documented cases of fraud, even investigated by conservative institutions, are minimal.
Conspiracies are difficult to keep secret - on this massive level, impossible. Those involved in the election process across multiple states don’t even know each other and coordination between them would be extremely difficult even if done in the open, much less in secret.
The components of this “big lie” are irrational and cannot possibly be true.
Even if it were possible to create this fraud (which it is not), one could not determine who the “true winner” would be without the fraud - election officials could not simply remove large numbers of fraudulent votes and determine what the outcome should have been. Thus, claiming that Trump would have won without this fraud, even if it existed, is irrational.
Lie #3. The COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax.
Why this is untrue:
COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in 2020, 2021 and 2022, trailing heart disease and cancer. There is no evidence to the contrary.
Sadly, medical misinformation that minimizes the danger of the COVID-19 pandemic is a major cause of preventable death in the United States.
Lie #4. Vaccinations are inherently dangerous and should be avoided.
Why this is untrue:
More than 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been safely given in the United States from December 14, 2020, through January 4, 2023. There is no evidence that this vaccine is not generally safe.
Severe reactions after COVID-19 vaccination are rare, and the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination continue to outweigh the risks.
COVID-19 death rates are higher among Republicans than Democrats (i.e. higher in Red vs. Blue states) attributed to lower vaccination rates by Republicans compared to Democrats, as well as less masking and social distancing. Getting vaccinated saves lives.
Lie #5: Climate change is a hoax and is not actually dangerous to humanity.
Why this is untrue:
The scientific consensus is that the earth’s climate is warming.
Although there are many people who wish that climate change would go away as an issue, the scientific evidence is clear that this is a major problem that is currently damaging human society and is getting worse over time.
Solving this problem requires both changing human behavior that promotes climate change and adapting to the changes already caused by climate change. These behavioral changes, difficult even in the best of conditions, are made much more difficult by the prominence of climate deniers.
Lie #6: Easy access to guns in the United States makes us safer.
Why this is untrue:
“The science is abundantly clear: More guns do not stop crime. Guns kill more children each year than auto accidents. More children die by gunfire in a year than on-duty police officers and active military members. Guns are a public health crisis, just like COVID, and in this, we are failing our children, over and over again.” Scientific American May 2022.
Living with a handgun owner is associated with a substantially elevated risk for dying by homicide. Women are disproportionately affected.
Access to firearms also increases the odds of suicide more than threefold.
These lies are particularly troubling because they are promoted by our family members, friends, neighbors and business associates, people who we want to continue to interact with. However, we cannot trust the judgment of those who promote these lies, at least regarding these issues. Most of us regularly deal with people who are irrational on some matters, and we often choose to ignore them or not respond when they talk about them; this may be the best approach when dealing with those spouting the “big lies”.