While it has been said that the truth will “set us free,” for Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson, the truth became the snare that shed light on his contrived mannerisms.
His theatrical rendition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s style of speaking during his address in the Tennessee Capitol the weekend prior has been juxtaposed with a video that surfaced of him speaking in a Bowdoin Student Government college campaign ad featured 7 years ago. Needless to say, the difference in style and cadence of his newfound manner of speech is beyond obvious and superfluous:
Often times, the word “grifter” gets tossed to and fro within the political sphere, with both liberals and conservatives being smeared by such a label, with little more to go on than mere conjecture. However, in this case, the term fully applies to Rep. Pearson, who went from a well-groomed and seemingly respectable man to a militant Black Panther-style revolutionary of the ’60s, sounding off like a southern baptist preacher.
After his contrast video was released, his latter style of manneristic imposition in efforts to come across as authentic was merely seen as cleverly adaptive salesmanship. It is quite apparent he has switched his whole persona for personal benefit from a liberalistic political party focused more on theatrics than authenticity.
In an age of wokeness, identity politics, and political theater, it is incumbent on us to continue on the narrow path of truth and credibility. The idea of putting on a caricature for the sake of acceptance should be so repulsive to our character that we do not entertain it for one second.
There is no measure of “success” that should warrant such deception, as ill-gotten gain via such a vehicle as manipulation is the very essence of corruption. As unfortunate as it is to witness this wickedness embodied by our local, state, and federal legislators, we should not at all be surprised by such deceptive behavior.
Frauds like Rep. Pearson are a dime a dozen, which makes our task of addressing such people a continuous but worthy cause. Truth is what we should all be striving for, as it is the torch that lights our way into a proper and righteous future. There may be those who deny such a character-defining attribute, as well as many who try to live a life contrary to its influence, but at the end of the day, the truth will set us free.
