Although there are many things that characterize the year 2021, perhaps nothing is more conspicuous than the deep lack of trust that Americans had in their institutions. From the president to the CDC, from Dr. Fauci to the media, almost everyone and everything was viewed with suspicion and distrust.
If you distrusted the media in 2021, you are definitely in the majority. Sadly, the United States ranks last in media trust — at 29% — among 46 countries surveyed according to a recent report. That’s worse than Poland, worse than the Philippines, worse than Peru. If you distrust our federal government you are even more in the majority. In the United States, trust in the national government has declined from 73 per cent in 1958 to 24 per cent in 2021. The Bible tells us that in the last days that many will turn away from the truth and accept myths. That is happening now in America and it bodes ill for our future. Let’s take a brief look at some of the major events of last year and try to separate the truth from the lies.
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 with much hope and anticipation of things returning “back to normal.” Biden had promised that he was going to unify the country and vanquish COVID. Neither happened. 2021 concluded with over 450,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, over 33 million detected infections and new COVID cases at the highest level on record. That’s up 27 percent and 67 percent respectively from the year before. The Washington Free Beacon awarded its “Lie of the Year” for 2021 to President Biden for his promise, “I will shut down the virus.”
Under Biden in 2021, we experienced skyrocketing inflation (which we were told was transitory but wasn’t), a chaotic humanitarian border crisis bringing in two million illegals (which we were told was under control but still isn’t), soaring energy costs (which we were told was not Biden’s fault but whose anti fossil fuel policies caused them), terrifying crime waves in city after city ( which we were told that defunding the police would prevent), supply-chain breakdown (which we were told was being fixed but is not), out-of-control government spending (which we were told was paid for but wasn’t), and the unmitigated disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal/humiliation before the world (during which we were told that no one would be let behind and many were).
We could list the ‘flip-flops’ (some would call them lies) that came from the White House, the CDC, Dr. Fauci and other health ‘experts’ in 2021 concerning COVID but it would take up our whole publication to do that. Instead we will just give you one: “If you get your shots you are fully protected against catching or transmitting the virus and you can stop wearing a mask and your life goes back to normal.” I had all three shots and despite that, I am writing this article having just recovered from COVID which I caught during the Christmas holiday. I still believe in people getting vaccinated and feel that my case could have been much worse if I had not been. But that is a far cry from the original claim of complete immunity. “Breakout case” has now become the norm not an occasional occurrence.
The 2021 story that was reported on more than any other occurred on January 6th and is a perfect example of why Americans distrust the media and their political leaders. While Congress met to certify the results of the 2020 election, President Donald Trump spoke in front of a large gathering of supporters at the Ellipse near the White House, reasserting his claim that election fraud played a role in his defeat to Biden in the 2020 election. Soon afterward, rioters breached the U.S. Capitol building and placed members of Congress in peril.
The nation watched in horror as the throngs of protestors physically attacked Capitol security, broke windows, threw objects and eventually entered congressional offices and the Senate chamber. There is no doubt that dangerous lines were crossed that day. The nation was traumatized. We should all agree that those who were involved in damaging property or assaulting anyone should be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent. Period!
But there was and still is today an attempt by many to paint all Trump supporters as terrorists and a serious threat to overthrow our government. ‘Insurrection’ became the left’s go to word to hammer that fear into their followers.
On MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace’s “Deadline: White House” the word insurrection was used 2,260 times in 2021, an average of nine times per show, according to Grabien, while “January 6th” was mentioned 2,852 times, including more than 800 times in November and December alone.
Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that January 6 was equal to Pearl Harbor and 9-11, where over 3,000 Americans died in each event. President Joe Biden described Jan. 6 as the “worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” That was when an estimated 750,000 Americans died. The Associated Press asserted it was “the most sustained attack on the seat of American democracy since the War of 1812.” Roughly 15,000 Americans died as a result of the War of 1812. Steven Sund, former U.S. Capitol Police chief, called it “a coordinated violent attack on the United States Capitol by thousands of well-equipped armed insurrectionists.”
The truth is that the rioters killed zero people in their storming of the capitol and not one person has been charged with possessing a firearm or even a knife. After a year of investigating, the FBI has found little or no evidence that the Jan. 6 attack was the result of an organized plot. The most common charge issued by federal prosecutors to date was for entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds which is a misdemeanor. And the U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump of all impeachment charges of inciting an insurrection related to the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol. So far, there have been no facts presented of an organized “coup” attempt on January 6 to warrant the rhetoric being used. You have to wonder at what point can gross exaggerations be considered lies. What took place on January 6 was shameful and a disgrace to law abiding Americans but it was not an insurrection or well planned coup.
On Inauguration Day 2017, violence plagued the nation’s capital in a protest of the election of another president. That was when the same people who are screaming “insurrection” today, rioted over Trump’s victory. According to NBC News, police arrested more than 200 rioters that day. Multiple police officers sustained injuries during the violence, several businesses were damaged, and one limousine was infamously torched. Where was the outcry from the left then? And where was their outrage over the George Floyd/BLM riots that have plagued our cities over the last several years?
Here are some statistics that may surprise them. There were 140 officers assaulted during the Capitol riot, but 2,037 assaulted during the George Floyd protests. There were 725 Capitol riot arrests, but 16,241 from the BLM riots. There was about $1.5 million in damage at the Capitol riot, but up to $2 billion in damages from the George Floyd riots. And government buildings were occupied and some completely destroyed in the BLM riots. Does anyone see the hypocrisy here?
Could it be that the reason the liberal media and the Dems are so focused on the Capitol protest is that they can blame Donald Trump and his supporters for that one and take some of the heat away from the Biden administration’s failures? If that is the stragety it isn’t working. The latest polls say that 58% of potential voters don’t consider the January 6th protest an insurrection or coup attempt.
But that’s not how I want to end 2021. Instead, what I want to declare is that all of this mistrust and suspicion shouldn’t alarm us too much since we should never put our trust in men (let alone in government institutions).
As Christians our hope is knowing in our hearts that there is one truth- the Bible! It was more important than ever to know the Word and allow that truth to have first place in our lives in 2021. In this world there will always be bad things happening, but we need to keep our minds and hearts focused on the One that overcame the world. We as believers in Jesus can live in victory! The truths found in the Bible are promises that allow us to have the PEACE of GOD in our lives despite what is going on around us.
To echo the words of Paul, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim. 1:12). That is my source of strength and hope and courage and faith and assurance and wisdom and guidance.
And so, I encourage you to look to the Lord like never before in 2022—to the one who died for you and rose from the dead—and to put your trust in Him and His unconditional love for all of us!.
As expressed by the courageous Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian friend of the Jews during the Holocaust who watched her family members die at the hands of the Nazis, “I’ve experienced His Presence in the deepest darkest hell that men can create. I have tested the promises of the Bible, and believe me, you can count on them.”
Be determined to trust Him in 2022. He is the only source of real truth and real peace!