By Hulan Edward, TWR Youth Action Fellow ‘20
Coming off of the Trump presidency in the U.S. and with corruption abounding in governments around the world, accountability and truth for our leaders is more important than ever.
Most would agree that it is important that figures of power tell the truth and be held accountable for their words. However, it is apparent that many leaders blatantly mislead and often are not held responsible for what they say and do. At face value it may not seem like a big deal if a leader tells a few lies here and there, but with a deeper analysis, those lies - or similar ones from people of the past or other places - cause divisions in society that can easily lead to violence.
The issue of leaders lying is far from a new one. Many, if not all, of the worst atrocities in history stem from misinformation and lies being spread by people of power. Hitler created an environment that enabled the Holocaust through lies about the Jewish population. The Hutu Government did the same with lies about the Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda. Not all leaders intend for their lies to result in these mass atrocities or foster an environment where identity based violence occurs, but misinformation by leaders manipulates a population and can create these environments.
Let me be clear by stating I am not trying to pick solely on Donald Trump; rather, by using a very recent and fresh example I want to highlight the issues that follow when leaders of any nationalities or political parties are not held to account. Looking at similarities between Trump and other world leaders whose rhetorical patterns have caused serious harm emphasized the need for accountability and truth when it comes to positions of power. It doesn’t take much effort to find a variety of sources that have documented the frequency and volume of Trump’s lies and misinformation during his time in office. For example, the Washington Post Fact Checker estimates that he has lied over 30,500 times.
Trump’s lies peaked in the weeks following the November 2020 election and ultimately resulted in an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol where multiple people died. The misinformation fueled a fire that erupted in an attempt to take down one of the U.S.’s most sacred locations that represents the bedrock of American democracy. While imperfect, the U.S. aims to fairly represent its citizens using democracy, and the lies of Trump and other leaders resulted in his followers trying to put a stop to that.
Discussion and disagreement are important aspects of running the democratic republic that the United States cherishes, but outright lies from leaders in the government prove to be a huge risk to that ideal. The ultimate issue is not whether truth needs to be told, but how a country can prevent lies without impinging on free speech. Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer here. I would suggest that while free speech is important, it does not remove the ability to hold someone accountable for what they say. How are they held to account? How does a nation ensure that truth is coming from their leaders? Who should bear the blame for baseless lies that result in violence - the people who commit the violence or the ones who instigate it? There are no easy answers to these questions, but as a nation and as a world it is imperative that discussion in search of answers starts and grows. And all I know is this: ignoring the red flags that come with lies and misinformation are likely to lead to a bad outcome.
Hulan Edward is a second-year student-athlete at Oberlin College and Youth Action Fellow at Together We Remember. He plans on majoring in Psychology, while minoring in Religion and Politics, focusing on helping the world through better understanding people’s religious and political beliefs.
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