Welcome to the Age of Denial
A. Frank, 2013 (New York Times)
Reading up on satire for my essay I found a common theme whilst researching articles about the 'death' of satire. Toby Young's quote states that satirists' have more power than modern politicians but the articles seem to suggest satire is struggling to keep up with the 'post-truth politics' environment.
Post-truth politics is when political figures focus more on promoting their own personal, emotional views rather than bothering with facts
Brexit and Trump's US Election campaign are perfect examples of stirring up hate with lies and statements that have no connection with reality purely for political gains
A. Frank is a scientist who became dismayed at the rise in denial of scientific research in the US since he became a physics graduate twenty five years ago.
In relation to my quote, I find satire is actually weakened by the uprising of anti-science and anti-facts in general. Mainly because if someone is caught out for a blatant lie or racist remark they simply deny it and in most cases seem to gain more support the more bloody minded they become when faced with accusations of lying or inciting hate.
Satire can't compete when if it tries to ridicule someone for having extreme views or being clueless and the majority of people come out supporting the person being targeted.
There is now a culture where if you confront someone with a fact they can simply claim to know better without having any evidence and that they are fighting the intellectual elite. By being overly passionate or charismatic when delivering their rambling, made up nonsense this usually trumps a coherent, considered non manic statement of fact.
A. Frank
'Today, however, it is politically effective, and socially acceptable, to deny scientific fact. Narrowly defined, “creationism” was a minor current in American thinking for much of the 20th century. But in the years since I was a student, a well-funded effort has skillfully rebranded that ideology as “creation science” and pushed it into classrooms across the country. Though transparently unscientific, denying evolution has become a litmus test for some conservative politicians, even at the highest levels.'
'What do I tell my students? From one end of their educational trajectory to the other, our society told these kids science was important. How confusing is it for them now, when scientists receive death threats for simply doing honest research on our planet’s climate history?'
A. Frank states it's more important than ever to promote science in a time when facts and evidence is constantly disregarded. Politicians are turning their backs of science, even though they reap it's constant benefits to medicine and technology that drives the western world and pander to the powerful religious elite who simply do not need any facts for their beliefs.
It's a warning that using facts and truth for a solid argument can no longer be taken for granted. So satire no longer can simply highlight what seems to be ridiculous to a rational human being as the post-truth beliefs of the new right wing movement now have enough media and political power to shrug off any ridicule because they no longer need to answer to the truth.
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