Shared Anger, Shared Values: What Our Editors Are Reading

This was not a week for mincing words. From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the message was clear: Stay home. “The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is at home with the people in your household,” said the CDC’s Dr. Erin Sauber-Schatz.

Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, had equally strong words for all who – contrary to all evidence – continue support President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen. “Shame on us. Shame on the leadership in this country. Shame on Trump. Shame on the Republican Party. Shame on those enablers, those individuals who are enabling this treachery to occur right before our eyes.”

But while the need to speak the truth is especially urgent, the most effective way to counter dangerous lies is rarely to resort to the all-caps tactics that might be our first impulse. “You’re likely not going to be very effective if you spew facts and tell them that they’re wrong,” misinformation expert Madeline Jalbert told Gina Ciliberto — especially when you’re trying to change the beliefs of a friend or family member. Instead, start by reminding them of the values you share, like keeping your family safe or upholding democratic elections, and then work through the sources together. 

1. Detroit Pastor on Delayed Wayne County Election Certification: ‘Shame on Those Enablers’ 
“They want to count the votes in places where he is winning and don’t count the votes where he seems to have lost or is losing. It is a shame before God and man,” Detroit NAACP president Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony said. By Stephanie Russell-Kraft via sojo.net.

2. CDC Pleads With Americans to Avoid Thanksgiving Travel
With the coronavirus surging out of control, the nation’s top public health agency pleaded with Americans on Thursday not to travel for Thanksgiving and not to spend the holiday with people from outside their household. By Mike Stobbe and Heather Hollingsworth via Associated Press.

3. Yelling at Your Family Won’t Change Their Beliefs. Do This Instead
When loved ones share alarming misinformation, there are ways to speak up. Here are research-based ways to have an effective conversation. By Gina Giliberto via sojo.net.

4. Fact-checking the Craziest News Conference of the Trump Presidency
President Trump’s attorneys offered a stew of falsehoods and conspiracy theories in a desperate effort to claim he did not lose the election. By Glenn Kessler via The Washington Post.

5. The Next Part of the Race
Adam Russell Taylor succeeds Jim Wallis as Sojourners enters 50th year. By Jim Wallis and Adam Russell Taylor via sojo.net.

6. Kernels of Truth About Corn
North Carolina chef Hadassah Patterson takes a close look at the origins and resilience of “Indian corn.” By Hadassah Patterson via The Bitter Southerner.

7. End the Muslim Ban on Day One, Urge More Than 100 Faith Leaders
“President Trump and some of his appointees have sowed fear and division among religious communities,” says the letter. “The Biden administration must act quickly to correct these actions and reclaim a positive vision of religious freedom that protects all Americans.” By Lexi McMenamin via sojo.net.

8. Trump Gutted Environmental Protections. How Quickly Can Biden Restore Them?
Here’s what Biden could do to reverse Trump’s environmental rollbacks, ranked from easiest — done with the stroke of a pen — to hardest. By Shannon Osaka and Nathanael Johnson via Grist.

9. Trump Touted the First Step Act to Win Black Votes. Did It Work?
Despite Trump’s attempts to position himself as the better choice, some formerly incarcerated voters viewed the current administration’s commitments to criminal justice reform with skepticism. By Cassie M. Chew via sojo.net.

10. Who’s at Fault? New Reports on Clergy Sex Abuse Offer Different Views
What the reports have in common is long lists of sexual abuse victims and their broken families. The testimonies of survivors are instructive for the quality of their demand for justice and yet, to paraphrase Tolstoy, each unhappy survivor story “is unhappy in its own way.” By Rose Marie Berger via sojo.net.