Believe It or Not II

Robert Ripley began a newspaper column, Champs and Chumps, in 1918 featuring sports figures. Within a couple of years he expanded to the unusual, fascinating, and weird that he named Ripley’s Believe It or Not! that expanded from the comic section of newspapers to comic books, books, radio, museum and tourist attractions. I most often read his latest “information” in the comics with an eye towards wondering if these bizarre objects, stories and claims were really true. He warned his followers in advance that they could believe what he presented “or not.” I do not know if anyone ever did a fact-check on him or his enterprises.

There is certainly lots of material in the modern day that could fill one of his museums with wonders from the current decade taken from technology, astronomy, artificial intelligence, science, and other areas that would baffle us and make us wonder if all we are seeing is really real. Most concerning to me are the claims in the political context of information and misinformation designed to persuade and not to entertain. In fact, the subjects with which the political claims are made are too serious to be considered entertainment.

If someone in the future wants to go back to Ripley’s original Champs and Chumps and expand the content to be “Statespersons and Imitators” or “Honest and Deceivers,” or others, there is unfortunately a lot of information from which to draw. Imagine an issue of the publication decades from now that describes a president who used multiple people and claims to keep the presidency when he had clearly lost his re-election. Most frightening is the prospect that in the future there may be those who would attempt to steal an election and would be successful in doing so after learning what happened at this day and time.

A future believe it or not, decades from now may try to describe in terms that would be believable that one of the major political parties of this time took weeks to select a leader for their majority that would be second in succession to the presidency. One who once elected had most people asking, “who is he?” After some quick research most who googled him discovered that he had been an ally in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election based on a false claim that the election had been stolen. What happens to our form of government has yet to be realized or believed when a person who favors dismantling the government is elected to a powerful leadership position in that very government.

This election cycle and especially the last couple of weeks we have seen television commercials that are unbelievable because they are false, slick brochures meant to fool you with their graphics, and a governor who has millions to spend on his own advancement. Ripley’s claims were fun if a bit exaggerated, but in the political world verify the claims!