Truth Under Attack

This letter to the editor, by Cheri Evjen, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on September 11, 2025.

Truth once served as an important cultural norm in American society. People who told the truth were trusted to help us make good decisions. Society feared and distrusted the habitual liars among us, and rightly so, because everyone understood that most people lie out of self-interest or to avoid the consequences of their actions.

Liars in a democracy can be particularly harmful. Psychology Today recently published an article entitled “Why Truth Matters for Democracy.”

The article reminded everyone that the pursuit of truth is essential if democracies are to function properly, because democracies require citizens to know what is true and what is false. The article also presents a fundamental truth: “Democracy suffers whenever a government actively deceives its citizens or just prevents them from having access to accurate information.”

Today America is still being lied to about the 2020 election, corruption within the current administration, who really pays for tariffs and what they will cost American consumers, job creation and the strength of our economy, and so much more.

Hardly a day goes by without RFK, Jr., who is neither a researcher nor medical expert, lying about the impact of vaccines and other effective scientifically verified treatments. Even worse, he has cancelled research programs and is making vaccines more expensive and harder, perhaps impossible, to get.

Truth is a vital component in our democracy because without it, our decisions are based on falsehoods and misinformation. Abraham Lincoln might have said it best when he stated “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

Now, more than ever, we need to fight for the real facts. Before we believe what we hear, we need to check for lies. Our democracy depends on it.