*Menu
Search
Submit
Newsletters
E-Edition
Southeast Missourian
Editorial

Be wary of false messages and their consequences

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Last week, a physicist-turned-elections “expert”, Douglas Frank, spoke at a regular meeting of a local group, Guardians of Liberty. About 80 people listened to his presentation.

Offered as fact and opinion, Frank’s message was pretty simple — our elections systems are a sham, and we, the people, should seize power over them, by force if necessary.

The first part of that message resonates with a significant percentage of our population. Hear the mantra enough, and you might begin to believe there are sinister, shadowy powers behind the curtain pulling this string and that lever to achieve a desired, corrupt result.

Enter Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers.

Summers attended the gathering. She waited her turn, not wanting to dominate the discussion, but she had a few things she wanted to say.

And say them she did.

She told the scientist she could only speak for the elections she oversees but that there is no fraud in local elections. She defended her staff and their work, highlighting her knowledge, expertise and dedication to the task.

Frank quickly began to backtrack.

Oh, he wasn’t talking about our local elections. He meant others elsewhere.

Of course, he did. When confronted by someone who works on the front lines of our nation’s elections and whose performance history in those elections is impeccable, Frank’s charts and graphs and mathematical formulas pale.

We are grateful Summers was there to set him straight. More than that, we’re thankful for her years of service to voters in this county.

Perhaps she might consider a speaking tour — “Restoring confidence in our elections, brought to you by someone who’s been there, done that”.

So, Frank’s election fraud spiel is dangerous in that it erodes faith in our electoral institutions, the second part of his message is even more worrisome.

Time after time, he called upon citizens to turn out with guns to intimidate others.

Mob rule. Intimidation by the barrel of a gun.

That’s what he is espousing.

We don’t do that in these United States. We settle our differences in the court of public opinion and in Congress and in state legislatures across this great nation.

Taking up arms against fellow Americans is not only extraconstitutional, it is contrary to our fundamental strength as a nation of laws.

Toss aside that code, and you have chosen an illiberal course that threatens to tear apart our nation.

We defend everyone’s right in this country to express themselves freely, without interference from the government. That extends even to those who spread nonsense and falsehoods.

We also strongly encourage everyone in this country to evaluate information they receive. Test its veracity. Consider alternatives. Separate fact from opinion.

Then, decide for yourself what to believe and how to respond — and how to vote — accordingly.

Meanwhile, thank you Kara Clark Summers for standing up calmly and helpfully in setting straight the record on election integrity in Missouri.

Comments