It isn't uncommon for someone, when confronted with a wrongdoing or even the potential of one, to try to deflect blame in order to save face; however, is this tactic ever be acceptable for the government and its officials? Even on an interpersonal level it can be detrimental to one's accountability and credibility when they choose to fall back on scapegoats instead of owning up. When it comes to the government though — dodging blame becomes a more serious matter.

How can a nation be expected to trust that statements made from the President and his staff are accurate if they are to continually and belligerently refuse all possibility of fault. No leader, government, nor nation are without flaw and while it is not new, or unusual, for a governing body to want to appear their best, it is disconcerting for one to be so adamant against criticism. To question is not to assail and to be patriotic is not to be blindly obedient. For an authority to be unreceptive to these notions and to criticism itself speaks hugely to its values. An administration that is willing to re-align the meaning of the word "truth" to ensure that they are never wrong is one which can never benefit all people.

Regardless of partisanship, accuracy of information and access to that information should be of the utmost importance. It is wrong for a government to try to pass off unflattering truths as being falsehoods. It is wrong for an administration to want the media to be censored in order to fit a small and extremely biased representation of the news. It is wrong for a President to never apologize or do right by the grievances he has either caused or been part in.

Obstinacy against admitting imperfection is among the greatest signs of insecurity and weakness that an individual can possess — they are qualities which have not and will not go unnoticed by America and the world. The president and his administration must at some point admit fault. The status quo is unsustainable. The transgressions which have been made, or have been uncovered, in even the briefest of windows are egregious enough as singular incidents to warrant great concern — let alone the perturbing state of these instances as a collective: a weight resting heavy on America's immigrants, women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, disabled people, and all else who value civil rights and the truth over oppression and "alternative facts."

Opinion will never be fact. America cannot rely on a President who believes the contrary.