The "Post Factual" Era - Are We There?

Like many Americans, I've been taking in the travesty that is Election 2016.   A campaign I never expected to see in my lifetime has left me numb.   As an older white guy, I realize I'm in a political minority within my own demographic, but we're all in some minority.   I also work in a broadcasting business that has played a major part in fanning the flames.  I hope we can find our way out of wallowing over our alleged situation as we get away from dangerous and shallow obsession over celebrity.   We have find some consensus. Compromise is the only way.   That goes for ideological purists and diehard fans of all candidates.  Respectful discussion and rule of law are the only things keeping our country from devolving into some banana republic.  When Donald Trump condones violence and takes childish namecalling to a new low, the disgusting firebombing of a Republican office only serves to fuel his vitriol even more. 

You can watch the ongoing bullshit yourself without any help from me in making up your mind.   Here's a post someone put on economist Robert Reich's Facebook page that sums up my feelings:

I hope Trump implodes, and more importantly, I hope the GOP understands that nastiness, lies, conspiracy theories and misleading their base eventually backfires. It is up to them to begin repairing their own constituencies' distrust of institutions, including elections, science, media, etc. in order to move the country forward. We can't even debate issues on the same terms because our "facts" are so different.

It's not just the GOP that propelled this post-factual phenomenon forward.  We willfully ingest this swill (myself included).  In other words, we as a society tend to get what we ask for, not what need or necessarily want.  Check out this YouTube video from CNN, where Bill Maher gets very serious and makes a lot of sense... unfortunately:
http://mindy-fischer-writer.com/2016/10/bill-maher-unloads-trump-new-interview-video/