In a recent CNN interview Newt Gingrich (50th Speaker of the House of Representatives) was talking to a reporter about crime in America. The Newt made it clear that "the average American" does not think crime is down and does not feel safe. The reporter informed the Newt that the violent crime rate in America is going down. These were statistics taken directly from FBI databases that the Newt disagreed with. The reporter informed him that these were indeed facts and that she was telling the truth. However the Newt replied with a statement that rings very true of the times we live in.
"People FEEL more threatened. As a political candidate I will go with how people FEEL, and I'll let you go with the theoreticians."
What the Newt meant when he said this was that people can look at facts, statistics, hypotheses, scientific theories, scientific law, etc. and if they don't FEEL like the facts they're looking at are the truth then, at least to them, that isn't the truth. . .
This may seem ridiculous at first but it's actually the truth. Well, only if you believe it is, but hear me out. One of the biggest tenets of the scientific method is that nothing can ever actually be proven. Hypotheses can be constructed and tested, but the tests made for those hypotheses are only trying to prove the hypotheses wrong. What this means that there is still no proof that gravity exists even though you don't have to be a scientist to see its effects. Scientists have only agreed on its existence because it can be easily observed and has never been proven false (no one has everything thrown a ball into the air that didn't come back down).
This may seem confusing but it is one of the most important things that makes science work. The scientific community and the achievements that have been made by humanity are all direct results of people being proven wrong, of theories being proven wrong, of institutions being proven wrong. Science is the temple of non-belief where anyone can prove anyone and anything wrong if they have proof and evidence.
The problem today is that people can make a claim with no proof to support it. After all scientists do this all of the time before actually doing research to attempt disprove their claim. The difference is that a person in today's society like the Newt, or Tomi Lahren, or literally anyone with access to a computer can make a claim and not have to back it up with proof. We live a post truth world after all. So if you try to argue with this person over something like race or religion or immigration or terrorism neither of you will have enough proof and information to change either side's mind. You see the same thing happen in the media. You see the same thing happen in your own life. You see the same thing in the President of the United States.
Around my own campus I have heard so many discussions in class and in dorm rooms end with, "I disagree until you prove me otherwise." or, "Let's agree to disagree." This is better than reverting to other more intimidating methods of persuasion but it still accomplishes the same thing that punching someone in the face does. It ends the conversation. And if there is no conversation or dialogue or conflict there will never be any change or improvement. Living in a post-truth world doesn't mean that nothing is true.
Living in a post-truth world doesn't mean that you get to decide what is true for you. Living in a post-truth world means that the only way to find the truth is to actively look for it. It means that when you hold a belief or idea YOU are the one responsible for finding the real truth of it. It means if someone shares an idea with you that you disagree with YOU are the one responsible in finding out if it is the truth. The time for not seeking out answers is over. The time for agreeing to disagree is over. I'll end with a quote from John F. Kennedy. We cannot be afraid of the truth. We cannot be afraid of each other. We cannot be afraid of ourselves.
"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."
