Have You Ever Been Falsely accused? 

“You did it!” The grouchy old lady complained. “You ruined my garden hose.”  She looked down at the two ten-year-old boys, and then at her garden hose which had a split in the tubing.

My friend, Tom, and I knew we hadn’t been anywhere near that hose. Although we proclaimed our innocence she refused to believe us. She loudly yelled that she was going to call the police. 

I 

As ten-year-olds, we were terrified. We were powerless. If we had been adults, we could have handled it. But as kids, we were helpless. Even though it all worked out in the end, that memory still scares me.

Have you ever been falsely accused? Or set-up at work? Many of us have. A co-worker sets us up to take the blame for something going wrong. Or steals our ideas.  Sometimes, false accusations are more serious.  

When I taught the McCarthy hearings, I began by asking the class the same questions I asked at the beginning of this article. “Have you ever been falsely accused?” After discussing some examples, I used this as a natural lead-in to the McCarthy Era. By the way there is an excellent movie about McCarthy called “Good Night and Good Luck.”

Our history is filled with examples of people being falsely accused. The Salem Witchcraft trials in 1692 are another example. Nineteen people were hung on the basis of a false testimony of eight young girls. A great film about the Salem Witchcraft trials is, The Crucible. 

Will the United States ever return to a period of mass hysteria similar to the ones like the McCarthy era or Salem? I believe that we are at such a risk. I believe that there will come a time within a couple of years that the false accusations that were prevalent in the times of McCarthy and Salem will happen again.

Neighbors turning in neighbors; children turning in parents; teachers turning in children. There will be concentration camps, executions, and a time of oppression like we have not experienced in years. If you thought things were bad at work, just wait.

All that has to happen is the election of Trump. He has said this. This is how he plans to run his presidency.

And it won’t be Trump alone pushing this; it will be your local police chief, your next door neighbor, the business person down the street. It could be anybody that takes offense at you, your race, your appearance or anything they don’t like about you.

You may think that because you are white, have blue eyes or attend church regularly that this won’t be your problem. You may think you will be exempt from these problems. Trump and his lackeys will turn on anyone if it benefits them. Christian or Jew. Muslim or Buddhist, it matters not. Trump and his cronies will always find someone or some group to go after. If it benefits them, they will scapegoat anyone.

There is only one way to stop this trumpian plan. To vote for democrats. You may not like Biden, maybe you think he is to old or can’t handle the job. But the alternative is worse. A fascist dictatorship that takes his power and uses it to crush you. Remember, a vote of anybody other than democrats, even if you vote for a third party is a vote for Trump. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does. Vote like you have been warned, because you have.