Dealing with deceit and delusions

By Pat Priest

Years ago my husband and I went to check on an elderly relative after neighbors complained about her behavior. She told us about how she had to fight off eagles who tried to pluck out her eyes. Neal consoled her, saying he was sure that was frightening. He told me later that it’s often counterproductive to deny someone’s delusions; you have to show empathy to establish trust and to avoid a backlash.

I thought of that when I read a recent Letter to the Editor in the Oconee Enterprise in which a man claimed that former president Biden spurred the purchase of “huge numbers of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition” at the IRS.

“Gosh,” I’d like to say to him, ‘I’m sure that’s frightening.”

But it’s just not true. This and other lies floated by X, Fox News, President Trump himself, and others are much more worrisome because they depict our vital institutions, Democrats, and others allied with them as extreme, anti-American, and – as with the man’s claim about the IRS – dangerous.

Their outrageous lies are necessary to keep his MAGA supporters on his side despite Trump’s fawning support for Putin, his terrible choices for Cabinet members, the steps he’s taking that are worsening inflation, and the slashing and burning of civil society.

For example: axing civil servants and government workers must be portrayed not just as a cost-cutting move but urgent because, they claim, the workers are conniving or lazy members of the Deep State. (That is, until some of his supporters are illegally terminated and experience a harsh wake-up call about the ugly lie that those fired performed poorly in their jobs.)

In contrast to the folks worked into a lather by disinformation, I belong to a weekly mindfulness group that sometimes tests my rebellious and cantankerous nature. Recently they talked about how to be better listeners, especially when conversing with neighbors and family members who hold the eagle-plucking-out-eyeballs fears of MAGA extremists. Mind you, these folks assembled each week are some of the kindest people I know, and they wanted to be more compassionate still!

My friends and family — and I’d argue Democrats generally — care deeply about the welfare and rights of others. We’re worried about kids here in the United States and abroad getting fed or veterans, elders, and the disabled getting the care they need – and so on. We’re not scary! We believe we should tax billionaires, not cut programs so important to our social safety net. We don’t know how to respond to delusions about us as the enemy.

To people dangerously hyped up by lies calculated to deceive and anger you, please look more critically at the malicious hogwash spewed by Musk, Representative Mike Collins, and others! Come back from the dark side to where there is love and kindness, not bullying, lies, hate, and anger. As the scales fall from your eyes, let’s work together to restore Democracy and trust.

Pat Priest, an Oconee County resident, earned a doctorate from UGA's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. She is founder of Athens in Harmony, Walk and Talk with a Scientist, New Friends for the New Year, and Artists in Residence.