By Patrick Robinson

It’s become a common refrain from people who have grown mistrustful of the media to suggest that stories about political figures or issues on the left or right are what has been labeled as “Fake News” and while that’s demonstrably true in a few cases, extrapolating that idea to a larger perspective is wrong.

It’s useful to think about how laws are shaped when we consider this idea because laws rely on human intent. Did you intend to harm someone? Was there malice of forethought? What was the person’s intent?

Human intent is shaped by a variety of factors, which can be broadly categorized into psychological, social, and environmental influences. 

Here are some key factors:

Personal Beliefs and Values: These are deeply ingrained principles that guide an individual’s decisions and actions. They are often shaped by cultural, religious, and familial influences.

Emotions: Feelings such as anger, love, fear, and joy can significantly impact a person’s intentions and subsequent actions.

Cognitive Processes: This includes how individuals perceive, interpret, and think about situations. Decision-making, problem-solving, and planning are all cognitive processes that contribute to forming intent.

Social Influences: Family, friends, peers, and societal norms can all play a role in shaping an individual’s intentions. Social pressure and the desire for acceptance can strongly influence behavior.

Past Experiences: Previous experiences, both positive and negative, can inform future intentions. Learning from past successes or failures helps shape how individuals approach new situations.

Environmental Factors: The physical and social environment, including socioeconomic status, education, and access to resources, can influence a person’s intentions.

Biological Factors: Genetics and neurobiology can also play a role in shaping behavior and intent. For example, certain genetic predispositions can influence how individuals respond to their environment.

When you apply these factors to a broader group of people such as a newsroom, congressional committee, the supreme court or even a political party you have to ask again, what is the intent? What drives each of them to their conclusions and outcomes?

We can safely infer that a politician’s intent is to get re-elected but if in the process of speaking to people they fall back on claims without proof, name calling, ad hominem attacks, and lies, you could easily see that their intent is not to be in YOUR service, but in their own. When their actions and directions take on the appearance of weaponizing their bias, you can just as easily see their intent is evil.

The recent efforts to refuse to certify elections, in fact planning in advance to do so, is just that. Planned evil intent.