For Arendt, facts and opinions, “though they must be kept apart, are not antagonistic to each other; they belong to the same realm.” A fact (her example is Germany’s invasion of Belgium in August 1914) “acquires political implications only by being put in an interpretative context.” Whoever reports what happened, she wrote, “always tells a story, and in this story the particular facts lose their contingency and acquire some humanly comprehensible meaning.”
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That is what Arendt meant when she argued that organizing people together to change the world—that is to say, doing politics—requires an approach that rejects outright lying while also avoiding a complacent expectation that “the truth” will reveal itself for voters to follow. The narrative wars have begun. If Democrats are smart, they’ll opt for storytelling instead.
I doubt they place any stock in those online petitions.
Call your Democratic Reps and Senators, and send emails, that’s what gets their attention.
Not to be combative here, I’m a fan of your comments-- but what makes you so convinced that that feedback mechanism works?
Mostly because I’ve heard from staffers that’s what works. Of course, it only works if they’re receptive. If you have a Democratic complaint, and you have a MAGA congressman or senator, you are probably screaming into the void. And vice versa, to be honest.
And thanks for the compliment. I hadn’t realized anyone was paying attention.