Our Post-Truth Era

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 410 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  Our Post-Truth Era (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

In 2016, post-truth was selected by Oxford Dictionaries as its word of the year due to a 2,000 percent increase in usage compared to 2015. So, what exactly is post-truth, and what are its implications for democratic politics? The Oxford benign definition is that post-truth “describes circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief ”. But what this definition does not capture is that post-truth is more problematic and dangerous than old fashioned lies.  We have always understood lying to be wrong. The book of Exodus describes the Ten Commandments as being spoken by God. “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor” is the ninth of the Ten Commandments commonly understood as moral imperatives in Judaism and Christianity.  Mendacity is a constant in human history. Yet, mendacity changes forms and post-truth differs from lying in that the truth itself is demeaned. Post-truth ignores and dismisses science, evidence, facts, and the truth itself. A defining characteristic of post-truth is that those employing it continue to insist in their positions even after those positions are proven to be false. Post-truth does not mean that truth disappears, but rather, that truth ceases to be important and is replaced by our emotions and personal beliefs.  In our post-truth era, feelings have more weight than evidence. The term post-truth became widespread in 2016 during the “Brexit” referendum in the United Kingdom, the presidential elections in the United States, and the Colombian peace agreement referendum that was to ratify the final agreement on the termination of the conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC guerillas. In Colombia, based on opinion polls, approval of the referendum was taken for granted. The unexpected victory of the “No” approval fell along lines of personal beliefs as happened with the Brexit vote in the UK, and Donald Trump’s presidential victory in the US.  Social scientists claim that we have developed a certain disdain for uncomfortable truths. We tend to associate truth with bad news, and we do not want to hear bad news. Thus, instead of searching for the truth, we distance ourselves from it. It appears we are electing to live in an era of post-truth.  Social media, the internet, and cable news amplify the dominance of post-truths. In the past, news came to us as well-researched propositions, or carefully thought-out opinions from respectable newspapers and other media. But, as we are now able to choose where we get our news from, we choose outlets that reinforce our own opinions. If FOX News is your favorite news source, you are unlikely to switch to MSNBC for your political information.  Ironically, even when news outlets seek to be impartial, they can create a false balance that favors unverified claims. This is because, in the effort to be impartial, news outlets give unsupported claims equal emphasis with factual claims. If we treat facts the same as opinions, everything becomes relative and subject to our perspective. Truth loses its moral value.  Today, like-minded individuals have the ability to gather and create data clusters aided by social media and the internet. This results in pockets of information that ratify ones beliefs and discards information that points in a different direction. Studies show that over sixty percent of us use social media as our primary source of information (Pew Research Center). That is, we get our information from unreliable postings on Facebook and the like.  Most disturbing, according to Professor Filippo Menezer (Indiana University), who’s research focus is on social networks and social media, there is practically no difference in the popularity of false news and truthful news. During the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign in the US, fake news gained just as many “likes” on social media as real news. Apparently, there is nothing to be gained by speaking the truth in politics.  The implication of post-truth is that opinions have the same value as facts. This is destructive for democratic politics because, without facts we can agree on, political consensus becomes impossible.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now