If we accept lies as truth to appease those with power, we will end up worse off than before.
Amid the continuing fallout from Donald Trump’s decision to halt trade talks with Canada, ostensibly due to an ad run by the Ontario government showing Ronald Reagan speaking in opposition to tariffs on U.S. allies, some have counselled that we avoid doing anything to ‘poke the bear’, and refrain from talking about Reagan because it may upset the current U.S. President. Others have aligned themselves with claims that the ad was ‘fake,’ ‘AI,’ or ‘misrepresented’ Reagan, even though none of those things are true.
As noted by Toronto Star columnist Brian Lilley, the ad was both accurate and legal:
“First off, any creative work produced by an American civil servant in the course of their work is considered public domain, meaning it is free to use. There was never a need to seek permission and the Reagan Foundation has no copyright claims on the radio address made while Reagan was president.
Secondly, the ad in no way misrepresents what Reagan said in the address or his overall sentiment. The one-minute ad is a summary of Reagan’s five-minute radio address which spoke about tariffs and why he is generally opposed to using them going back to his experiences in the Great Depression.”
Still, some are repeating Trump’s claim that the ad is fake, perhaps as a way of aligning themselves with power. And this is concerning.
Power does not erase truth
There is often a short-term benefit to be found in ignoring the truth to appease a powerful person. If you align yourself with what a powerful person – like Donald Trump – wants, you can gain potential power or security for yourself. And if the price of doing so is sacrificing the truth, that is a price many are willing to pay. But that sort of thinking requires forgetting that we are all connected and that what happens to others ultimately impacts us. When the truth is eroded for the sake of the powerful, we will find ourselves unable to find refuge in the truth if the powerful turn against us. If Canada submits to Trump’s distorted view of Ronald Reagan (Trump calls Reagan pro-tariff, despite that being a false claim), what happens if Trump resorts to further falsehoods to push his effort to weaken Canada or justify further aggressive action towards our country? In the long run, the price of sacrificing the truth is higher than what doing so brings us in the short term.
We would be wise to remember that power does not erase truth. The truth is worth defending, even when the powerful oppose it.
Spencer Fernando
If you’re interested in supporting Spencer Fernando’s writing, consider becoming a subscriber.
If this piece left you clearer than it found you, that's the point. I write for readers who want to think past the week, to see the longer pattern beneath the daily story, and to come away steadier rather than more agitated.
That longer view gets built somewhere. On Patreon, essay by essay, I'm constructing The Long Work, a body of analysis meant to outlast the news cycle that prompted it. The readers there make it possible. No subsidies, no strings. The work answers to them.
$8/month to read it as it's built, and to have a hand in building it.