Oxford Dictionaries on Wednesday said 2016 was best characterized by a word that questions the concept of facts themselves: post-truth. The dictionary publisher defined post-truth as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."
Sigh.
Again: "Objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."
He says he's going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it. It's not true. It's not going to happen. It doesn't matter. It makes a frightened soul feel good to hear him say it.
He says he's going to deport 11 million people. It's not going to happen. But to some non-marginal segment of the population, it's a thrilling idea. Ban all Muslims from entering the country? Nice. Lock her up for something the FBI publicly states is not a criminal act? Sure, feels great to hear.
Global warming is a hoax. Never mind that the science is proven. If you don't want to hear it, you don't have to believe it. Welcome to post-truth.
Thankfully, there are still hard-working citizens, public servants, journalists, academics and institutions that are pushing back against this crazy notion. A clear majority of Americans voted to repudiate such toxic beliefs, despite what the electoral college has decided.
But the era of post-truth is upon us. Let it be short-lived.
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