Your readers were subject to an opinion piece in the June 22 newspaper that was presumably written by Sen. Trey Stewart and Sarah E. Hunt (“Biden’s signature act fails Maine, feeds China“). I say presumably because it could have easily been written by a few choice prompts in ChatGPT. For instance, if you wrote the prompt “write an opinion piece, in the absence of any facts about EVs, designed to appeal to those who deny climate change, and to get the most likes on my social media feeds,” this would produce such a diatribe.

These are the words your readers should watch for when a politician is baiting them, typically in the absence of any profound ability to construct policy and solve problems. Words like “honest way” are intended for them to believe that only the writer is entitled to honesty. Words like “under attack” are designed to stimulate their fight or flight response, usually a result of the writer’s inability to be serious and/or consider anyone else’s opinion but their own.

And, words like “real American energy” are designed to make people believe that they must be beholden to the large “American” energy conglomerates for as long as they stay in the dark about the advantages of renewables. Angry words, written to prevent people from thinking for themselves about how our nation truly creates energy independence, should come with a surgeon general’s warning. It would read, “If you quit hate now, you will greatly reduce serious risks to your health.”

Tracy Floyd
Cape Elizabeth