Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

A few years ago, the Oxford Dictionary dubbed "post-truth" the Word of the Year. This is where intense emotion has displaced objective truth and it's playing out in real life. Four and five year old children are allowed to determine their own gender. Burley men dressed in drag are invited to public libraries to read in children's story hours. And those with conservative views on sexual ethics are branded dangerous bigots. But how long can society last without truth? When interpretations become subjective and based on emotions, people eventually become a law unto themselves. In a post-truth world, strong personal feelings may justify someone's life choices. However, the strongest feelings in the world cannot change reality— a reality that begins correctly by basing truth on an objective standard.