Prompt:
I found this on Facebook. Can you fact-check it and perhaps give a polite correction?
🇺🇸🙏🦅🙏🇺🇸
No matter how I vote, no matter what I say, something evil has invaded our nation, and our lives are never going to be the same.
I have been confused by the hostility of family and friends. I look at people I have known all my life—so hate-filled that they agree with opinions they would never express as their own. I think that I may well have entered the Twilight Zone.
You can't justify this insanity. We have become a nation that has lost its collective mind!
- If a man pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him.
- Somehow it's un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America.
- Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals voting in our elections are good.
- It was cool for Joe Biden to "blackmail" the President of Ukraine, but it's an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquires about it.
- Twenty is too young to drink a beer, but eighteen is old enough to vote.
- People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves.
- People who have never been to college should pay the debts of college students who took out huge loans for their degrees.
- Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but you'd better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.
- Irish doctors and German engineers who want to immigrate to the US must go through a rigorous vetting process, but any illiterate gang-bangers who jump the southern fence are welcome.
- $5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion for "free" health care is not.
- If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country you go to college for free.
- People who say there is no such thing as gender are demanding a female President.
- We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, but it seems like a great plan to us.
- Some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, and other people are not held responsible for what they are doing right now.
- Criminals are caught-and-released to hurt more people, but stopping them is bad because it's a violation of THEIR rights.
- And pointing out all this hypocrisy somehow makes us "racists"?!
Nothing makes sense anymore, no values, no morals, no civility and people are dying of a Chinese virus, but it is racist to refer to it as Chinese even though it began in China. We are clearly living in an upside down world where right is wrong and wrong is right, where moral is immoral and immoral is moral, where good is evil and evil is good, where killing murderers is wrong, but killing innocent babies is right.
Wake up America, the great unsinkable ship Titanic America has hit an iceberg, it is taking on water, and is sinking fast. The choice is yours to make. What will it be? Time is short, make your choice wisely!
God have mercy on us. 🇺🇸🙏
(These are NOT my words – but very accurate and disturbing!)
Feel free to copy and paste. I did.
Response:
The post you've found is a combination of several points reflecting personal frustrations, political views, and misrepresentations of various topics. Below is a fact-check on several key points along with polite corrections for accuracy:
Fact-Checking Key Claims:
1. "If a man pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him."
Clarification: This refers to transgender people, who transition based on their gender identity, not "pretending." Transgender rights are recognized by law in many countries and states, based on scientific research on gender dysphoria.
2. "Somehow it's un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America."
Clarification: The controversy was over including a citizenship question in the census, not counting "how many Americans" there are. The census counts all people, citizens or not, as it impacts resource allocation and representation in Congress.
3. "Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals voting in our elections are good."
Clarification: There's no widespread evidence of non-citizens voting illegally. Investigations have consistently shown that cases of non-citizen voting are extremely rare.
4. "It was cool for Joe Biden to 'blackmail' the President of Ukraine..."
Clarification: Biden's actions in Ukraine were aligned with international efforts to address corruption. The allegations against him have been repeatedly debunked, while the impeachment of Trump centered on soliciting foreign interference in a U.S. election.
5. "People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations..."
Clarification: The debate over reparations involves compensation for the legacy of systemic racism and inequality, not direct payment for ownership of slaves. It's a complex issue rooted in addressing historic injustices.
6. "People who have never been to college should pay the debts of college students..."
Clarification: The proposals for student loan forgiveness aim to address the growing student debt crisis. The idea is to relieve financial burdens that have far-reaching consequences for the economy, not force non-college-goers to "pay for others."
7. "Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome..."
Clarification: Immigrants are required to undergo health screenings and vaccinations before being allowed into the U.S. There are strict public health guidelines for incoming immigrants.
8. "If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country you go to college for free."
Clarification: Unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for federal financial aid. Some states offer in-state tuition to undocumented students, but this is a state-level policy aimed at residents.
9. "We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing..."
Clarification: Most democratic countries that provide social programs (like healthcare and education) aren't collapsing. Examples like the Nordic countries show successful economies with robust social safety nets.
10. "It is racist to refer to it as Chinese even though it began in China."
Clarification: Referring to COVID-19 as "Chinese" has been criticized because it has contributed to discrimination against Asian communities. Public health experts and organizations advise using neutral terms like "COVID-19" to avoid stigmatization.
Polite Correction:
"I understand the concerns being expressed here, but some of these points contain misunderstandings of the issues. For example, the census controversy wasn't about 'how many Americans,' but rather the inclusion of a citizenship question. Similarly, transgender people aren't 'pretending'—they're transitioning based on their gender identity, which is a recognized medical condition. Perhaps we can all take some time to dig deeper into these topics to ensure we're having a more fact-based discussion."
Final Thoughts:
This type of viral content often oversimplifies complex policy issues and presents false dichotomies. While the frustrations expressed may be genuine, addressing them requires nuanced understanding rather than inflammatory rhetoric. Fact-checking and seeking multiple perspectives on complex issues helps us have more productive conversations about the challenges we face as a society.