Some of you won’t believe this, but I didn’t sleep much last night. Some of you will believe it because you know me. Some will because I told you, and you’re not the type to question things too deeply. Some of you just don’t care enough to question it. Some will think I’m lying because you’ve been hurt before and don’t trust anyone. Many of you won’t have read this far because “words make brain burn.”
All of those are valid responses. Only one is true. And since my only awake and available witnesses are a dog and a cat—who, frankly, have their own agendas—I’m the only one who knows for certain. So, you either take my word for it or you don’t . Not a big deal, but that’s how it is.
And that’s fine.
All of it is fine.
Except the stupid takes I don’t like. Those are not fine. But then again, that’s fine too.
Since I don’t sleep well, I write. I take all these tangled-up thoughts and put them on paper (digital paper), again and again, until the voices stop yelling at me. These are some of those thoughts. Take them with a grain of salt or take them personally—whichever works best for you.
We need a full spectrum of humans in this world. People who worship science. People who dedicate themselves to religion. People who refuse to believe anything unless they’ve personally licked the surface of the moon. And let’s not forget the ones out there inventing brand-new belief systems—good for them. They keep things interesting. After all, the Earth won’t make itself flat. Someone’s gotta get out there and pound it with a hammer.
And none of it really takes anything away from anyone else unless you allow it. Believe what you believe, but leave room for dissent. Opposition doesn’t weaken your convictions—it strengthens them. If your beliefs can’t handle a little pushback, were they ever really beliefs?
In the ideal world, anyway. But let’s sprinkle in some real-world skepticism, just to keep things spicy.
If we give equal weight to all ideas, doesn’t that also mean giving them equal disregard? Shouldn’t people have the right to believe (or disbelieve) whatever they want, no matter how inconvenient it is for the rest of us? There have been vaccines that were later recalled for causing harm—just like there have been others that saved millions of lives. Some people think questioning authority is reckless. Others think not questioning authority is reckless. So, what’s the line? And how do we draw it when—especially lately—so many “official narratives” have unraveled into full-blown lies? Wars, medicine, economic policies—pick your poison.
Religion is no different. Some people believe in one god. Others believe in many. Some believe in none but put their faith in human reason (which, let’s be honest, is sometimes a bigger leap of faith than believing in an omniscient deity). And then there are the people who believe they are God and will stare at you expectantly until you acknowledge their divine status. And they have those really good staring eyes. The ones that look at you in both directions at once.
Governments? Just another belief system. Entire structures built on the idea that certain people should have power over others because, at some point, we all collectively nodded and went, yeah, okay, that makes sense. Some people believe the system is fair. Others believe it’s rigged beyond repair. Some think it was designed to control us. Others think it was built to set us free. And yet, despite all this, we still pretend we’re all working from the same set of facts. All while the man holds us down. Or up. Don’t touch me.
But what actually shapes those facts?
How about this? Mostly, where you were born, how you were raised, and which flavor of personal hardship you’ve had to endure. Sure, there are other factors, but these are the ones I picked, and since I’m the one writing this, that’s what we’re going with. Which, of course, makes me correct—for now.
You can find an expert to back up almost any belief. But disagreement doesn’t automatically make someone evil. I personally like to follow Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Or, put another way—most people aren’t scheming supervillains. They’re mostly just regular people making dumb mistakes, like the rest of us. Except for me and you, of course.
On top of all of this, I try to ask myself one simple question:
What if I’m wrong?
Not in the smug, performative see-I’m-so-open-minded way where I only ask to reaffirm what I already believe. Not just to make a show of it so everyone can marvel at how introspective I am. Not just to repeat the same sentence in slightly different wording so this paragraph is bigger.
No, I mean actually entertaining the idea that I could be an idiot.
Maybe I’ve been an idiot this whole time. If so, it would be nice to find that out sooner rather than later. Maybe you don’t like the word idiot. Well, choose another word and write your own essay or whatever this is. I’m not an idiot. You’re an idiot. No, not you—the other guy.
But here’s the thing—changing your mind is hard. Not juat hard, but terrifying. Letting go of a small belief is easy. But if your entire worldview is built on something, questioning it feels like standing on the roof of a burning building with no ladder in sight. So, what do most people do? They dig in. They build the walls higher. They reinforce them all the way up to the secret hollow moon base that is definitely real, and no, you cannot convince me otherwise.
So, can you do it? Can you question your own ideas? Can you entertain the possibility? Do you even think thats a good thing? If someone believes the opposite of you, does it make you angry? Does it make them wrong? Does throwing rocks at stop signs help with your anger issues?
Where does that leave us?
If we accept that skepticism is healthy… that history is filled with deception… and that entire industries profit from public trust (or lack thereof)… what exactly are we supposed to believe? If scientific consensus can be bought, and history is written by those who hung heroes, what foundation do we have for truth?
If a person has the right to believe in science, shouldn’t they also have the right to reject it, even at the risk of being wrong? If someone has the right to follow a religion, shouldn’t they also have the right to reject it, even if their eternal soul is allegedly on the line? And if history has repeatedly shown us that entire populations have been led astray, why should we assume it isn’t happening right now or won’t again in the future? Because some charismatic persona gets up and tells you so? Ehh, maybe.
Rejecting expertise too broadly leads to chaos. Accepting it uncritically leads to obedient ignorance. I’m sure all of you are right on target, though, so no worries.
So, when we say “trust the experts,” do we mean all experts? Or just the ones who confirm what we already believe? When we dismiss dissenters as conspiracy theorists, are we shutting down crackpots or silencing inconvenient truths?
I’m sure plenty of you have strong opinions, and that’s great. Just keep in mind that, odds are, you live in a country or place that you wouldn’t be living in if some ancestor of yours hadn’t decided they didn’t like where they were at the time. Probably. I bet there are other reasons, too. And believe it or not, and I doubt it, but you could be the one that’s wrong.
So, should we ease up on the skepticism and distrust? Should we try being more optimistic, trust people more, and stop assuming that everything is some elaborate scheme?
Maybe. Or maybe not.
That’s up to you.
I have an opinion. I think dissent-shaming is a poor way to deal with the world. I believe it’s a cheap and easy way to exist. But I could be wrong. It’s happened at least twice in my life, so anything is possible. Pay attention to how you viscerally react to all of this and you’ll learn a lot about yourself. And don’t get mad at me, I’m just thinking out loud.
I’ll leave you with this final thought:
Trust me. I won’t lead you astray. I’ll always have your best interests at heart.
Vote for me.
And, as the kids on the internet say, like, follow, and subscribe for more.
Bleh. That last sentence felt horrible to write down.
(P.S.: I don’t really have voices yelling at me. And they definitely didn’t force me to write this last part.)