By Louise Mathews
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. — Attributed to Voltaire
This week I lifted my head out of the sand long enough to start investigating a question for which I had not found an answer until now. I queried, “Trump and pardons” and “Trump and bribes” and began reading articles such as “The bombshell inside Trump’s $1.3 billion pardon market,” “More days go by, more bribes for trump,” and “How Trump became the biggest crook in the history of democracy.”
I tiptoed through the website, oversightdemocrats.house.gov until I noted that lame duck Jasmine Crockett and boorish Ro Khanna are on the committee. There’s even a “Trump Family Digital Grift Profits” tracker. I scanned a few reports that made claims and relied heavily on Democratic party talking points for evidence.
I began to feel like the Dementors of Harry Potter novels were sucking out my soul, and I needed a ton of chocolate to save me.
I cannot defend Donald Trump. For one thing, I am limited by word count. Like the rest of us, he sins. He has made egregious mistakes. Whether he and his family have committed actual crimes will, I am sure, come out in the interminable impeachment hearings that will probably start Jan. 3, 2027.
I am cynical enough to believe that Washington, D.C., is rife with quid pro quo dealings. Why else would there be an entire industry of lobbyists? They are not just talking.
I would probably be upset about President Trump’s pardons seemingly related to payments for the ballroom construction if President Biden had not issued pardons to family, friends, and followers for anything they had done or might still do. It’s sad but true that actions that are illegal for us little people are lawful for those in power. Look at the insider trading Nancy Pelosi used to such great advantage.
I do think, though, that we the people must at least attempt to understand the difference between fact and opinion.
When I was teaching, a text we used defined fact as something that is known to have happened or to exist, especially something for which proof exists. Opinion is a thought or belief about something or someone. This distinction bothered me as it put spiritual faith into the realm of opinion because it cannot be definitively proven in the way that biology can prove conception occurs when a sperm penetrates an egg.
For example, it is a fact that Tom Homan was the Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations at ICE under President Obama. Tom Homan served as Acting ICE Director during the first Trump administration. He serves as border czar during the second Trump administration.
It is opinion that ICE agents can murder people without consequences.
It is fact that Donald Trump won 49.2 percent of the popular vote in the 2024 presidential election while Kamala Harris won 48.3 percent of the vote.
It is opinion that Donald Trump is a dictator bent on destroying democracy.
All of us are entitled to our own opinions. We are not entitled to our own facts. Sometimes it is difficult to discern the difference. We are products of our upbringing, education, experiences, and information sources, all of which are biased. Most of us are guilty of confirmation bias, that is, we read or view media that agree with our views and beliefs.
Some of us believe whatever we think is right, or that our group or class owns the truth. A long time ago, a mentor told me to repeat, “I can be right, or I can be happy.” I say the Serenity Prayer daily – sometimes several times a day – to remind me of what I can and cannot control. What I can control is pretty much limited to me.
Recently, I broke one of my own Facebook rules and commented on a friend’s July 4th post. I viewed the website to which she referred as making claims without evidence. She wrote a lovely reply, which I have thought about a great deal: “We may have different views on politics, but I still value you as a friend and neighbor. I believe strongly in your right to publish your opinions. As I do in mine. I don’t bear you a drop of ill will.”
I am reminded of her gracious reply when I think of Sen. Lindsey Graham who passed away 24 hours before I finished this essay. Sen. Graham was known for his ability to reach across the aisle to find compromise when he and Senate Democrats disagreed on an issue. He worked for what he believed to be the best path forward for America, but he was always respectful of people who disagreed with him. Let us honor his memory by following his example.
Louise Mathews retired from a career in community colleges and before that, theater. A 13-year come-here in Beaufort, she has been a dingbatter in North Carolina and an upstater from New York.