Letters to the Editor: Democrats need to adapt to fight propaganda from the right

To the editor: President Trump did not wait for an investigation of the Renee Nicole Good slaying before concluding that she was a dangerous left-wing ideologue whose shooting was justified (“Trump celebrates our nation’s founding while imitating tyrant King George III,” Jan. 15). Conservative media took up the call. Now that message is on repeat.

The GOP has perfected the art of propaganda and the Democrats are still relying on fact-based messaging rife with details and logic. We are losing to propaganda. We can blame Citizens United for giving too much power to too few people and organizations. We can blame a reckless presidential administration for dishonest and unlawful actions, but we cannot win by playing the same game.

Democrats should keep it simple and say it often, and we can do it without lying: “Federal agents are attacking U.S. citizens in their communities.” Simple. Truthful. We can forever debate Jan. 6, 2021, as well as the video footage of Good’s brutal slaying. We know that the Jan. 6 “protesters” were not peaceful and we know that ICE’s aggression is riling up crowds and putting people on the defensive. It is an age-old policing tactic. Just review footage of civil rights protests.

The founders did not have to compete with gargantuan megaphones of politicized, unreliable news sources and social media spewing pro-King George III propaganda. We are losing ground and we need to catch up.

Bethia Sheean-Wallace, Morton Grove, Ill.