When Truth Becomes the Enemy: What a Fired Statistician Says About Our Democracy
"We are the ancestors of the future. May they remember us not for our silence, but for our courage to speak, act, and care when it mattered most." - Mary Coughlin
When Truth Becomes the Enemy: What a Fired Statistician Says About Our Democracy
"Trust is built in the small moments—when we tell the truth even when it’s inconvenient, when we honor the people who hold the data that shapes our decisions." - Mary Coughlin
On August 1st, President Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the Biden-appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Her “offense”? Delivering job numbers he didn’t like. And, as has become the pattern, he didn’t just fire her—he defamed her, making her a target for far-right harassment.
On its surface, this might look like another political power play. But if we zoom out, it signals something much more dangerous: an assault on the very institutions that provide the facts we depend on to make informed decisions as a nation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces foundational economic data—data that shapes interest rates, fiscal policy, business decisions, and the livelihoods of millions of Americans. Undermining this agency is like cutting the wires on a plane’s navigation system and then expecting the pilot to “wing it.” We are, quite literally, being asked to fly blind.
And this isn’t happening in isolation. Public broadcasting has been gutted. The chair of the Federal Reserve is under fire. Independent institutions—those meant to check the power of any one person—are being systematically dismantled.
What This Has to Do With Trauma-Informed Care
At first glance, this might seem far removed from my work in trauma-informed developmental care. But it’s not.
Trauma-informed care is built on five principles: safety, trustworthiness, transparency, collaboration, and empowerment. These aren’t just nice words—they’re the conditions that make healing possible.
When we undermine truth and transparency in governance, we replicate the dynamics of trauma on a societal level:
Safety disappears when truth is unstable and leaders retaliate against those who hold power accountable.
Trustworthiness collapses when facts are replaced by political convenience.
Empowerment erodes when citizens lose access to the information needed to make informed decisions.
In the NICU, we know what happens when hierarchies silence experts and ignore facts—patients suffer.
In a democracy, the stakes are just as high. Without truth, we all suffer.
The BUFFER Lens
This moment calls us to reflect through the B.U.F.F.E.R. framework:
Belonging – What happens to our sense of shared purpose when public servants are vilified?
Understanding – Without accurate data, how do we understand what’s real?
Frameworks – Independent agencies like the BLS are frameworks for fairness.
Equanimity – How can we make grounded, just decisions without trustworthy information?
Respect – Where is the respect for the people who dedicate their lives to public service, and for the citizens who depend on their work?
This is not just a story about one woman losing her job. It is about all of us losing our grip on truth.
We Are Not Powerless
Moments like this can feel overwhelming—like the tide is rising too fast. But awareness is the first act of resistance.
We must name what’s happening: the centralization of power, the dismantling of independent institutions, and the silencing of those who tell inconvenient truths.
The REIMAGINE Movement exists to hold space for reflection, courage, and connection—to remind us that a just, compassionate democracy is possible.
But action requires all of us—and many organizations are already fighting to protect truth and democracy.
Where to Go From Here
Want to protect the truth? Defend democracy?
Here are some places to start:
Because resisting authoritarianism is not a solo act.
We each have a thread to weave—and when we weave them together, we create the future.
For truth, for justice, for us all,
Mary
