Does the Truth matter anymore? In our hyper-polarized environment, it is becoming clear that many people assume that if the other side is losing, their side must be winning. But if the result is a world in which truth and facts do not matter, getting anything accomplished will be impossible. Interestingly, young voters had the strongest feelings in this regard. One of my colleagues in the project observed that this group talked about social media the way addicts might talk about their drug dealers – hostile but dependent. There was a near unanimous sense that social media elevates the most extreme, angry voices and then forces people to take sides. These observations were validated last weekend by the eruption of hysterics and vitriol directed toward a group of high school students who attended the March for Life in Washington. Without any context, evidence, or broad perspective, there was an immediate social media condemnation of these teenagers. If you weren’t wholeheartedly against them – if you didn’t want to punch their faces – you were told you were morally bankrupt. The left gleefully pointed to what the students were accused of doing – without evidence – as an example of all that is wrong with the right. Many conservatives bought into the smear as well, denouncing the students and trying to make it clear that they weren’t like them. Nobody bothered to question if the few seconds of video told the whole story. In this age, a side must be taken – immediately and without thought or hesitation. Even after more videos were released that showed the initial stories were simply false – and the teens were not racist demons – many people felt compelled to stick to their initial outrage. To change your opinion or accept another’s is seen as a win for the other side. This cannot be allowed – truth be damned. In our hyper-polarized environment, it is becoming clear that many people assume that if the other side is losing, their side must be winning. But if the result is a world in which truth and facts do not matter, getting anything accomplished will be impossible. We will all lose. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/newt-gingrich-weve-been-listening-to-america-here-are-the-surprising-things-people-are-telling-us