Baby Boomers recall the words of a popular Buffalo Springfield song: “There’s something happening here/What it is ain’t exactly clear.” Or as Bob Dylan sang, “Something is happening here and you don’t know what it is/Do you, Mr. Jones?”

What is happening is that a large segment of the American public is confused about facts and truths.  Most things involve a matter of opinion (“Are organic foods necessary for healthy diets?” or “Are the Utah Jazz better or worse than last year?”).  But other things are constructed on hard facts. Unfortunately, many voters will be casting ballots this year based on political party slogans rather than actual facts. 

As columnist Paul Klugman recently pointed out, there is a huge disconnect about how people see the nation’s economy. Granted, inflation is a fact and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only added more impetus.  As a major oil producer, the Soviets ship some 60% of their oil to Europe, so it’s not a surprise that any energy disruption will lead to higher prices internationally.  The war has also impacted the supply of wheat – one of the major exports of both Russia and Ukraine – it won’t be long before we see a spike in the price of cinnamon rolls too!

But for the vast majority, the economy is quite sound, and, in some cases, flourishing. Writes Klugman, “Airplanes are flying full and restaurants are jammed.  It looks like a booming economy out there.”

Indeed, if you ask people how they are doing personally, as a respected consumer survey reported, a plurality respond that they are better off financially today than they were last year.  Yet these same people are grumbling about the economy. Despite an increase of 6.5 million jobs in the past 12 months and the never-ending “Now Hiring” signs, one research firm found that only 19% of Americans are convinced there is job growth.

Facts are facts. Whatever you may feel about President Biden, it’s ludicrous to say the economy is floundering and the U.S. is experiencing job losses.

And it’s not just a disconnect with the economy.  Millions of Americans actually believe that our law enforcement agencies are being “defunded” simply because the media has given airtime to a few hairballs who want to replace a cop with a shrink.

But the facts are quite different.  Last year, police budgets in the country’s 50 largest cities (as in most urban areas, represented by Democrats) actually increased.  There has been a rise in violent crime, but that has nothing to do with defunding.  Furthermore, despite individual incidents leading off the local evening news, violent crime per capita has generally been on a downward slide since the mid-1990s.

When only 52% of Americans agree that Ukrainian refugees should be allowed to pursue their dreams in the U.S., I have to wonder where we have lost our compassion for other humans.  When 20% don’t view Russia as an enemy, I have to question their lack of literacy and understanding of history.  Do we really think that if we can sing “Give Peace a Chance” Putin will cease being a butcher?

The bottom line:  Opinions are cheap. The truth is often more expensive and inconvenient, as are the sacrifices we are sometimes asked to make.  The disconnect between opinion and fact will not vanish until Americans stop listening to partisan blowhards on cable news channels, conspiracy podcasts, and political party “spinning” on important issues.