A Headache Presenting as a Person

 I am going to go outside of my area of expertise today to talk about disinformation. 

And as usual, all the things I write about here are my own opinion. 

Have you ever heard of Madison Cawthorn? 

There really isn't any reason for you to know who he is really. So let's start with the basics. Mr. Cawthorn is a 26-year-old from North Carolina who currently works as a Member of the House of Representatives in the US. 

Here are some things that he wants you to know about him.

He is Christian, he is the only member of Congress born in the 1990s, he trained in wheelchair racing for the 2020 summer Paralympics. He lost the use of his legs in a car accident where his friend who was driving fell asleep at the wheel. Cawthorn's legs were up on the dashboard, his friend escaped the car and left him "to die in a fiery tomb". His political career started when he was a full-time assistant in the office of then-Representative Mark Meadow's congressional office. 

Here are some things he forgets to mention, he was never on the wheelchair racing team, his friend actually dragged him out of the car after the accident, the assistant position was part-time. And maybe most telling, he has several allegations of sexually aggressive behavior dating from college almost to today against him. 

There are so many cases of this person being caught in their lies that their Wikipedia page is worth a read. 

Here's why this is important. Cawthorn spoke to his supporters yesterday (I guess he needed some attention) to say that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is a thug, his government is corrupt and evil, and that they push woke ideologies. Later after he had some time to think (or an advisor had had a word with him) he came out to say that Putin was the thug, but Ukraine and Russia were both evil and pushed anti-American agendas. 

The main problem is that there are a large number of Republicans that believe all that Russia has to say about the war in Ukraine. Trump told all of his followers about Putin, he told them that the Russian leader was a genius and that he thinks everything he does is magic (maybe not in those words). Now Cawthorn is doubling down to spread the Russian propaganda that Russia is the hero. The Russian reports no casualties, and that Zelenskyy is a secret Nazi who is trying to bring that nightmare back to the present. These people are the same that are still protesting under the guise that it is about the mandates. 

How long until this thought comes across the border? We are in dangerous times when people like Cawthorn are in power. Their followers are blind to the truth and only believe what their leader tells them, and what they read on Facebook. 

I know I am tired of the fight, I am tired of seeing a Canadian flag on the back of a pickup truck and knowing that the person doesn't believe in our country. You're thinking what can this person from North Carolina have to do with us? There are people here that know of this person and think that every word he speaks is a golden nugget. They don't look him up and see his history of lies. They see someone who says what they think and they become emboldened. Then there is more hate, more division, more violence. We need to be aware so we can prepare. We need to stop letting people stomp all over the rest of us because we don't want to be uncomfortable, that time has passed. It's time to remind people that we are allowed our opinions as well. 

No song or shopping today, I am running late for something. This entry may not make a lot of sense, but I think that it's because I can't believe that we are here. It's a slap in the face for the holocaust survivors and all of the soldiers that fought for freedom, and it makes me incredibly sad. Our country and our children deserve more than hate just for hate's sake.