Ronald Reagan’s words of wisdom regarding tariffs are sadly ignored by today’s Republican Party. Many (most?) former Reagan Republicans are now parroting the current president’s breathtaking lie that tariffs are paid by foreigners.

thehill.com/opinion/finance/4896673-trump-tariffs-economic-disaster

The ABCs of making a cult:

A. Tell people the lies they want to believe
B. Use the lies to manipulate their emotions in ways they like
C. Repeat A. and B. multiple times daily

We must never forget: democracy is best way for achieving widespread prosperity, the key is having politicians who are 100% to working for the good of the public, not placing priority on their own political careers.

Faith in democracy will crumble if people believe that the pursuit of happiness is no longer possible; that they’re condemned to spend their lives hopelessly struggling on a never ending treadmill of just scraping by, one slip up away from catastrophe.

Our reelection-obsessed, power-addicted politicians stoke division for self-serving purposes. Enough already! The ever worsening division plays right into the hands of those who seek to destroy us.

Your fellow Americans are not the adversaries. Beware of powerful forces, both here and abroad, that seek to stoke division in order to weaken us, and ultimately destroy our democracy. They are not fighting for you, despite what they may say. Their weapons are lies and emotion manipulation.

The ever more severe culture war-driven division in our country means that politicians are increasingly held unaccountable by their supporters not only for their lying, but also for misdeeds, flagrant mistakes, and even crimes.

Let’s not simply accept the carnival of lies that our elections have become. Let's make our elections an honest competition of ideas and vision, and in doing so strengthen our democracy and achieve widespread prosperity. www.americamagazine.org/politics-soc...