1. False: The bad economy is Obama’s fault.
Closer to the Truth: Obama started well in trying to fix an incredibly difficult situation, but he was soon hampered by the “just say no” tactics of the Republicans. Let’s just say that based on the way things were going when he took office, and given the broken state of Congress, things could be a lot worse than they are.
2. False: Obama is a liberal president.
Closer to the Truth: Obama ran a center-left campaign in 2008, and has since governed like a moderate, sometimes even a center-right president. It’s because the Republicans have turned so far to the right that the center appears to be the left. Obama has seemed interested more in brokering compromises than pushing his own agenda - although he has taken some more progressive stances in this election year.
3. False: Some progressives are upset with Obama because he didn’t accomplish everything he promised.
Closer to the Truth: We’re upset because he too often refused to stand his ground, even on bedrock issues such as tax cuts for the wealthy and the public option for health care. And when it became clear that Congress wasn’t going to cooperate, he at least could have become a vocal advocate for issues he campaigned on, such as the environment.
4. False: The Republicans taking back the White House will be a disaster of Biblical proportions that will forever ruin the United States.
Closer to the Truth: There would be some consequences, such as the probability that the Supreme Court would remain conservative for a long time. But let’s not forget that we will have more elections in 2014 and 2016. Just ask the Republicans how “the end of the world” is not really the end of the world.
5. False: The mainstream media has a liberal bias (or a conservative one).
Closer to the Truth: The media is most interested in increasing their profits, which gives it an unmistakable bias toward the status quo of the two-party system. As long as we have Republicans and Democrats engaged in biannual slugfests, they’ll be happy.
6. False: The successful people in society are the ones who make a lot of money.
Closer to the Truth: Wealth is just one of many ways success can be measured. The notion that our nation should be divided into “winners” and “losers” based on the size of our paychecks is a tool for the wealthy to increase their wealth.
7. False: Getting corporate money out of elections will solve most of our problems.
Closer to the Truth: It would be a positive step, but the real battle is to develop a responsible media and a voting public that is more aware of how information is distributed and distorted. If the average voter understands how money influences elections, and learns that there are ways we can work around this system, it won’t matter how much corporations spend. Things will change.
What false narratives would you like to add to the list?