Two readings on narratives and what they mean to us:

1. A sociologist in Louisiana talks about Trump and the American Dream. “We all have a deep story. And it’s important to know what these are. Because so many arguments aren’t really between one set of facts and another; they’re between one deep story and another.”
2. Dave Algoso, on operating in a world with no truth. I don’t agree with everything he says here, but it hits some important, thought-provoking notes. “The fourth factor, stemming from the previous three, is the elevation of opinions and stories to the same level as truths and facts. Opinions and stories are fine for what they are, but in the public discourse they play a more dangerous role than merely fragmented truths—i.e. truths verified with reference to other sources—because they are unconcerned with verification.”