This course will help you to become a more informed and skilled consumer of the many messages that come at us during an election cycle. While mis- and disinformation, deep fakes, and AI are much on our mind, words themselves always carry the danger of making us believe what is not true, so much so, that Plato called rhetoric "the beautiful lie." But words, used ethically, can also inspire us toward good, toward faith, and toward the truth. This course can make you a better, more informed citizen, providing a primer on interpreting the political messaging that surrounds us.