Beware of The Narrative

By Deacon Mike Manno

(The Wanderer) -- In case no one has told you yet, this is a presidential election year; I know I was surprised too when I heard it on the radio.

          Anyway, while trying to catch up on the news I started listening to some of the leading political figures in the country, both Democrat and Republican.

          I was especially interested in what the Dems had to say about their man, so I tuned-in to their favorite media darlings to get the news from their point of view. It was eye-opening!

          Commentator after commentator were praising Mr. Joe Biden for his clear, level-headed approach to governing. They noted how sharp and energetic he was. His press secretary said he was doing so much that his staff had trouble keeping up with him. Others, including the governor of California, are praising the president for the “wisdom” which comes from his age, as well as his laser focus on the issues.

          Surprised? I’m not.

          What you see happening is the reliance on The Narrative, that version of supposed facts and events that add up to a false representation of reality. We’ve seen it used often, especially by politicians claiming the high ground on a potentially fatal issue. It becomes a factual oxymoron, like the competence of House Republicans … but I digress.

          He’s sharp as a tack? He’s energetic? He’s wise? Sorry folks, I’ve been around for the past four years and I’ve seen a doddering, shuffling old man who cannot put more than two sentences together, and can’t find his way off stage after a speech. His own Justice Department implies that he is too feeble of mind to face a trial.

          So we look for solaces in the words of that great philosopher, Groucho Marx, who once said, “Who are you going to believe, me or you’re lying eyes?”

          We’re going to see a lot of that this year, contributions to The Narrative to try to redefine reality. For example, here is what we are looking for:

          >The Narrative: claims from one side that its election will preserve democracy. Now, to be fair, both sides will make that claim. But that side has a funny way of preserving democracy.  Using lawsuits they are trying to keep their opposition’s leading candidate off the ballot; they have also used petty political operatives to charging him with some 90 felonies, most of which are dubious at best; and while they are at it, they are trying to bankrupt the man for violation of a fraud statute where there is no victim, no complaining party, no pecuniary loss, while the supposed victims, sophisticated world-wide bankers, testified they thought the deals were fair and they would do them again.

          But remember The Narrative: Those people will destroy democracy.

          >Then there is the Narrative on border security. This narrative has a two-fold argument: First, the border is a mess because the last administration left it so and what was poor Mr. Biden to do? Of course The Narrative never mentioned that in January of 2021 the border was the most secure it had ever been.

          Second, The Narrative claims that if only the other side would agree to a non-partisan border deal the crisis (which apparently was not viewed as such before this month) would end. The Narrative ignores the reality that Mr. Biden used his executive order pen to wipe away all protections Mr. Trump had created. Yet, to this day the president claims that he needs more authority from Congress to deal with the border even though the laws in this matter have not changed since our current chief was Mr. Obama’s veep. Forget that what can be done by the president’s pen can be undone by the president’s pen. That’s the part of The Narrative they want you to ignore.

          >The next Narrative is simple: Republicans hate women and want to prevent them from proper medical care, which, of course, is defined as abortion. An ancillary to this Narrative is that they dislike woman so much they also want to make contraception illegal. I suppose the next corollary is that they hate babies, too. Understand this Narrative and you will understand why so many Dems want to regulate or legislate crisis pregnancy centers out of business. 

          >The biological Narrative is that transgender women and girls (biological males) are the real thing because gender is fluid and can be changed. Maybe that Narrative is political truth  because the Dems’ biggest financial supporters in the teachers’ unions say it is so, all the while conspiring with school boards to go behind the backs of parents to assist confused students to transition, which sometimes means a lifetime of a particular drug regimen, or at worse, surgery.

          But the mental health of our children should not stand in the way of The Narrative, especially since only transphobes and others of their ilk are trying to deny those children, some as young as eight, the right to make that decision by themselves, sans their parents who just might know better.

          And the one Big Narrative deals with the capitol riots of January 6, 2021. I just heard the president on one of the late shows the other night claiming, as The Narrative insists, that two police officers were killed that day, which shows how far the MAGA crowd will go. Actually, The Narrative will not admit this but the only person killed at the capitol that day was an unarmed white woman by a black undercover cop. Two officers did die, one of medical complications the next day and one by suicide. Again, The Narrative stands in the way of reality. 

          Now I could go on and perhaps you can as well. And I am sure that some could even point out the use of The Narrative by the other side. That would be nice, but I’m not sure that a comparison of the items would be equal in either size or volume, but in fairness, please try and see for yourselves.  

          More than ever, we need to be sophisticated in our evaluation of the political claims by both sides to arrive at the truth, which as Christians we are required to do. This is no time for knee-jerk voting our usual party. We need to understand what the arguments are and pray that we have the understanding to properly evaluate each claim and not be overwhelmed by displays of power and superiority.

          Remember what Dorothy and her friends saw in the Wizard and how terrified they were of him. That was until Dorothy’s little dog, Toto, pulled back the drape that revealed the real Wizard.

          Detection of The Narrative requires us to pull back the curtain of political mish-mash to look the man in the eye and challenge his words.

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 (You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every weekend on Faith On Trial or podcast at https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/)