Where are the people who live in light of the facts about reality more than their feelings about it? Where are those whose understanding of the world is shaped more by evidence and logic than by narratives and anger? Where these people exist, they’re the true radicals.
I’m convinced that the biggest emerging fissure in Western culture is not necessarily between political left and right as much as those fiercely committed to reality (even when it goes against the narrative) and those who elevate the narrative (whether left or right) above reality.
COVID-19 has offered illustrative examples of this. There are plenty of people on the political right whose approach to the pandemic is more informed by their political narrative, and its resultant posturing, than by a good-faith commitment to reality.
Their narrative—“nanny state” big-government overreach, corrupt Big Pharma, encroachments on personal liberty, vaccines as government control—becomes their reality. No level of scientific consensus or statistics will cause them to rethink or at least complicate their narrative.
There are plenty of people on the political left who act similarly, allowing their entrenched narratives and biases (e.g., taking off your mask in public signals you must be a vaccine-hating, genocide-loving conservative) to take precedence over objective reality.
In a piece for The Atlantic on the overcautious progressives “who can’t quit lockdown,” Emma Green observes: “Even as scientific knowledge of COVID-19 has increased, some progressives have continued to embrace policies and behaviors that aren’t supported by evidence, such as banning access to playgrounds, closing beaches, and refusing to reopen schools for in-person learning.”
Where are the people who live in light of the facts about reality more than their feelings about it? Where are those whose understanding of the world is shaped more by evidence and logic than by narratives and anger? Where these people exist, they’re the true radicals.
Too many of us are too committed to partisan narratives, and not committed enough to reality. It’s tragic that this is true even within the church—where Christians’ politics often shapes how they interpret and apply the Bible. In a world of competing and ultimately subjective narratives, we need more people radically committed to reality. And Christians are well positioned to be such people.
But first we must be aware of why narratives are so magnetic in today’s information landscape.
Why We’re Drawn to Narratives
Humans have always been tempted to prefer convenient narratives over inconvenient reality—it started with Eve’s choice to believe the serpent’s narrative, after all (Gen. 3:1–7). But there are specific dynamics in our modern, technological age making the problem worse. Here are three.
1. We’re Too Overwhelmed. (Narratives Are Easier.)
In a world utterly glutted with information—far too many articles, studies, statistics, opinions, and “expert” recommendations to ever sort through—getting to the heart of reality is hard. Sometimes it seems impossible.
When a relentless barrage of information hits our brains, it’s easier to file things away in tidy narrative boxes (“This is proof of that”) than to lay them out on a table and see what reality emerges from the evidence. Quickly plugging data into established narratives is a coping mechanism in a world of information overload.
