Dear editor,

The following is a commentary on the editorial “Science, Democracy and Donald Trump” published in the Rochelle News-Leader Local Views on July 17, 2024. The author uses the Media Bias/Fact website to judge Mr. Trump’s credibility. The rating for Mr. Trump is the lowest possible credibility according to Media Bias/Fact, while that of the current president is “mixed,” meaning he is in between the highest rating and lowest rating of credibility despite his outright lie that no soldiers died on his watch. Thirteen soldiers died during the Afghanistan withdrawal, based on Department of Defense records.  Numerous fact-checking websites exist that tend to lean right or left, but their reviews are often based on questionable fact sources. For instance, the Hunter Biden laptop was considered fake news, yet it was recently produced as evidence in a court of law.  The FBI “Russian Collusion” theory was considered credible but was debunked by Special Counsel John Durham, even though many credible resources thought it was true. Relying on fact-checking websites is risky because you often don’t know the validity of the facts they rely upon or their hidden agenda. Simply because multiple sources present the same “facts” does not mean that they are independent opinions since they may simply be getting their information from the same inaccurate source.

The author criticizes Mr. Trump’s mentality as being based on religion and tradition but not science. The author is assuming that religion and science are mutually exclusive. Religion is the basis of an internal moral code and view of eternity. Science is the practice of testing a thesis through experimentation. There are many examples of prominent scientists who are also people of faith, e.g. Dr. Ben Carson.  Assuming the author means Christian religion, if more people were involved in this practice, perhaps there would be less vitriol in the current political conversation.

Tradition is often a guide on things that have worked in the past. The U.S. Constitution is a form of tradition. Marriage was traditionally considered a bond between a man and a woman. Now, marriage can be between two men or two women, so much for tradition. Mr. Trump’s policies on extracting more oil, closing the border, and producing more oil are scientifically based. For instance, the economic theory that more oil available reduces the price of fuel for consumers, reduces inflation, and bankrupts our adversaries who rely on oil revenue funding, resulting in less military action on their part, was proven correct during the last administration.

The author suggests that Mr. Trump is a threat to democracy. Democracy is a form of society that relies on persuasion rather than force. Newspapers, radio, TV, and online websites are media that used to be trusted to be neutral purveyors of information. They are now a source of information claiming neutrality but operating on a means of pushing an agenda. In the past (tradition), journalists considered themselves sources of information on both sides of an issue, leaving the conclusion to the reader. Many journalists today believe that the American people cannot be trusted to make their own decisions based on facts. They are worried their readers/listeners may reach a conclusion contrary to their political views. Consequently, they push an agenda, or a lie (gaslighting), such as the “biggest threat to democracy.” 

The article tends to read like left-leaning talking points, which is often called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Apparently, the author suggests that I am a deficient person since I rely partially on religion and tradition to form my opinions.     

-Chuck Roberts, Rochelle