On Facts, Truth and Public Narratives

You could be mistaken for believing that the primary public narratives and political engagements of our era are dominated by simpletons and misanthropes. These are of course not the only contributors to debate or policy discussion but the general effect of complex issues percolating through the requisite layers of information simplification implicit to message-compression in mass communication is to render facts, truths and issues much as kindergarten caricatures of crayon and pencil, as outlines and sketches without logical depth or intelligent articulation. It begs the question as to the effective suitability of current communications systems and methods for conveying sufficient information to allow the populations of liberal democracies to fully comprehend and assess the most pressing issues that face us. If facts can be wilfully reinterpreted and abstracted away from truth so easily and if the sparkling superficialities of popular entertainment culture can misdirect us from authentic or honest appraisals of demonstrable and deeply concerning facts, how can we ever hope for effective or timely change in regards to the most serious existential concerns we all (should) share ?