Posted by
Doc Stephens on Saturday, May 30, 2009 11:30:18 AM
Ignorance is normal. We're all ignorant, but we differ from each other in what we know and don't know. Some of what we think we know, we really don't know, and sometimes we become so convinced we know something that we become arrogant about it. Arrogance with ignorance is a dangerous combination.
This brings me to the entire subject of global warming, or climate change, or the greenhouse effect--pick the descriptor you prefer. This is a subject where most of us are found to the left-side of the ignorant-to-knowledgeable continuum, including politicians, journalists, and even PhD climatologists. The science is immature, there are many factors and variables involved, the atmosphere of the earth is an incredibly complex and even chaotic system. Knowledge of the interactions that occur at the boundaries with the land, the sea, the biosphere, and outer space extends beyond our present scientific grasp. The scientists understand quite a bit, they are learning more all the time, but their knowledge is far from a practical understanding that allows for general explanation and comprehension. We are very far from the wisdom that nurtures sound public policy. Furthermore, in science we will never know everything about anything. Most of us can only repeat what we hear the experts say, and how we choose our particular experts is a whole other story. We are too ignorant for our crap-detectors to function reliably.
I like to say that someone who is both arrogant and ignorant is unencumbered by the facts. I stole this notion from someone many years ago and I've enjoyed its simple truth. When we don't know what we're talking about, our ability to make fools of ourselves is truly unlimited. I've observed that really arrogant people are often really ignorant--it's scary. I also like to say that well-educated persons are those who have learned, very well, to hide their ignorance. This is a most ironic truth.
Next time a government official, a politician, a journalist, a teacher, a scientist, or a friend makes a statement that includes, or is based upon, an untested assumption, be discerning. Think about it, question it, consider the source, and do all of this before you repeat what you've heard as if it were truth. This takes discipline, but it is a discipline we should all pursue.
Before we commit billions of dollars to prevent something, perhaps we should discover if what we wish to prevent is likely to happen. If yes, then we should determine if it is a bad thing that we would want to prevent. If yes, then we should discover whether we have the means to effectuate a desirable outcome.
Our government leaders appear to have skipped all of these basic questions. They have made certain assumptions and are debating potential laws (i.e., cap and trade) that would reduce our freedoms and "redistribute wealth." This is an example of ignorance born of populism married to a frightening arrogance. We have elected officials who don't really care if what they are doing is the right thing to do. They only care if it is popular and if it can be listed among their accomplishments.
Where is their responsibility to learn? Where is their responsibility to lead? Where is their responsibility to protect our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Enacting such laws in response to political pressure, and very questionable science, violates the trust. Governments, at least our government, are supposed to be instituted to secure these rights through the just powers derived from the consent of the governed. I'm afraid our government has devolved into a partisan mud-wrestling match resulting in a dysfunctional labyrinth of laws and rules. It has become addicted to its own dysfunction. Heaven help us.