Truth Decay

When opinions shout louder than facts, who’s really listening?

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This comic’s been simmering in the back of my brain for a while now. I kept seeing people—mostly on the left—posting things like “I didn’t vote for Elon Musk.” And while I’m not exactly on Team Elon (I mean, DOGE? Really?), that kind of comment gets under my skin. Not because I disagree with their concerns, but because that’s just… not how our government works.

In the U.S., a whole lot of people in powerful positions are appointed, not elected. If we’re going to shout about how systems should change, we need to understand how they work first. Otherwise, it’s just noise. Saying “I didn’t vote for Elon” makes as much sense as saying “I didn’t vote for Anthony Fauci.” You didn’t. No one did. That’s not how it works.

Now, let’s not pretend this is just a left-leaning problem. On the far right, there’s another kind of chaos—where folks will repeat literally anything Trump says, regardless of whether it’s been proven or completely debunked. And believe me, fact-checking that man’s quotes is a full-time job. The misinformation is exhausting, and honestly, kind of dangerous.

So when I started this strip, the goal wasn’t to dunk on one side or the other—it was to highlight how extreme thinking on both ends of the spectrum leads to bad takes. I found it easier to spot blatant falsehoods on the right, but when you go far enough in either direction, logic tends to fall apart.

After I posted this on TikTok, someone commented, “Am I supposed to identify with the cigarette?” The answer is: not necessarily. Bud, Nick, and Joe are characters. They’re not meant to be avatars of you—they’re little trash beings with exaggerated traits I throw into messy situations to spark a thought. If you’ve ever watched All in the Family, you didn’t have to agree with Archie Bunker or Meathead to understand what the show was saying. Same idea here.

What I hope people take from this isn’t a team to root for or an enemy to boo—it’s a nudge to think. To ask: How am I consuming information? Who am I trusting, and why? Am I challenging my own biases—or just doubling down?

When I post these comics, some folks want them to clearly target “the other side.” They want me to pick a villain and stick to it. But that’s not the point. We don’t need more shouting. We need more listening. We need to find the threads that still connect us, even if they’re tangled.

If I were going full tinfoil hat for a second, I’d say: maybe someone out there wants us fighting. Maybe we’re all playing a game someone else designed, and we’re too busy yelling to notice.

But maybe if we unplug for a while—step away from the screen, go for a walk, sit in stillness—we might actually hear something worth listening to. Or maybe just our own thoughts. That’d be a good start.

Take it easy,

James