NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING

 

I have a friend who has a habit of ending many of our discussions with the phrase “nobody knows anything.”  For a long time I simply thought he was a glass half empty kind of guy and too pessimistic when it came to many topics.  I now believe he may be a realist with much wisdom to offer.

          We often talk about the economy.  When I eagerly bring up a new investment scheme, he listens carefully before puncturing my premise and reminding me “nobody knows anything” when it comes to predicting future economic events.  He points out that we are in Star Trek territory with the Federal Reserve money printing, where no man has gone before.  He believes my hours of watching CNBC and reading Barron’s are a waste of time.  For every pundit I quote, he counters with a reliable source who claims the exact opposite will happen.

          I fare little better on world events.  When I make my case for democratic processes flowing from the Arab Spring my friend claims that the Biblical end times are just as likely.  If I point out a probable result because “history repeats itself”, he delivers another version of events with a different ending.

          Because my friend is a retired surgeon I thought I could pin him down on medicine and science.  No such luck. He knows by heart the multiple times the AMA has completed a study only to be refuted a short time later by a new study.  He knows the reversals and revisions in biology, chemistry and physics.  He points out that the brightest theoretical minds in the world cannot begin to offer empirical proof of the “big bang” or string theory.

 I even come up on the short end of our discussions on local sports.  When the penguins lose in the playoffs and the Pirates are playing like one of the best teams in baseball he smiles and says “nobody knows anything.”

          The implications of this view on life are far reaching.  I believe there are four observations that may be made.  Each of them can help us to accept our “humanism” and the fact we are more alike than we think.

          First is the realization that the information age we are experiencing makes it possible to learn more, from multiple sources, so that we can determine with greater rapidity, how much we do not know.  As our knowledge begins to double every few years we may finally make it out of the first inning on the scale of human evolution.  I have no doubt that today, when it comes to knowledge, we are closer to the Neanderthal than we are to our ancestors 100 years from now.

          Second, the commentator, scientist, politician or theist who claims to have the only/final answers should not command our attention.  If we all adopt the attitude that “nobody knows anything” it would bring us all a bit closer on the journey through life.  Put another way, the truth is like humility, when you say that you have it, you don’t.

          Third, the so-called winners in life and by this I mean the wealthy and powerful are by and large the products of being in the right place at the right time. They really didn’t know anything unique, they were lucky.  This is why reading the bios and theories of self made men to gain wealth and fame (many of which contradict each other) is about as helpful as going to the casino.

          Lastly, while it may be true that “nobody knows anything” access to and accumulation of knowledge does not equal wisdom. There are wise men among us who do not claim to know more than the average individual, but who do understand the path to a live well lived.  They are wise enough to know that they cannot predict how any story will end.  Their wisdom is in making good use of the journey.

 

 

SECOND POT OF COFFEE THOUGHTS

·       According to the President of the Washington County Bar Association, the Court is hoping that its two newest jurists can “robe up” by Labor Day and not be forced to wait until after the November Election. Given the backlog and strain on the local legal system, it cannot come too soon.

 

·       Washington’s Mayor, Brenda Davis is looking more credible by the day in her dust up and recent decisions concerning the police department.  It sure trumps the past “hands off” attitude of East Washington and “hands in the till” approach in Pittsburgh.

 

·       The Washington County legal community is facing its own privacy debate over the efficacy of digital recording in the courtrooms. The issue is technology and cost savings v. protecting privileged communications.  Not quite on par with the national debate over security v. privacy, but important just the same.

 

·       If one government building had been torched in Turkey during the recent demonstrations, the stock market would have come down to my very low buy target for Turkish stocks.  Unfortunately, “buy stocks when there is blood in the streets” is a truism.

 

·       Not so in Syria where that portion of the Mideast will be an economic dead zone for decades.

 

·       As an observer of recent political history, it seems that most state and international violence prior to the Berlin Wall coming done, was based on ideology. (western democracy v. fascism and communism) Since 1989 most state violence and acts of ethnic cleansing have been tribal, sectarian, and/or based on ancient kinship relationships.

 

·       It is entertaining to watch the conservatives and Wall Street Journal editorial page agree with the President’s policy of gathering mega data for national security reasons while attempting to attack him at the same time.

 

·       It is even more entertaining to watch progressive Obama supporters disagree with the Patriot Act, IRS debacle and drone policy while trying to remain loyal to the President.

 

·       When both ends of the political spectrum are unhappy, somewhere there is sound/moderate policy at work and the President is marching right down the middle of the road.

 

·       One important takeaway on the economy: "Fed money printing, which is how its bonds are paid for, has restored wealth for those fortunate to own financial assets. For those still seeking work, the payoff is nowhere in sight." Barron’s 6/8/13

 

·       Over the past several years it has become clear that we need a special rehabilitation program for politicians suffering from “egoism”, with special classes on how to control social media urges.  First step to recovery: “We admitted we were powerless over our egos/social media and that our lives have become unmanageable.” 

 

·       There is a scientific theory, gaining acceptance in energy circles, that recurring deep earth chemical reactions and not fossil fuels are responsible for natural gas deposits.  If this turns out to be true and Washington County is sitting on an inexhaustible supply of the stuff, our backyards will be as important as Texas, the North Slope and Saudi Arabia combined, for the next 100 years. WSJ, MIND AND MATTER, 6/8/13

 

·       The government will soon offer a “triple play special” on monitoring our communications. Those individuals who agree to the monitoring of their mail along with the already monitored phone and internet services will receive a revised edition of the novel 1984 and a prominent bumper sticker that proudly announces: “MY LIFE IS AN OPEN BOOK.  WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO HIDE?”

 

JESSIE WHITE AVATARS RUN AMUCK

 

I hope that Representative White does not interpret these remarks as a political attack from one of his enemies.  I believe that he can learn from the events of last week and see the experience as an exercise in humility and not as the culmination of his political opponents trying to humiliate him.

 I am a democrat and not one of his constituents.  I have adamantly disagreed with his position on the Washington County reassessment debate and believe it amounts to political show-boating.  The citizens of Washington County deserve to pay property taxes that are fair and equitable.  His repeated attacks against the lawyers and school districts who seek to achieve this goal have been misplaced, personal and vicious.

            Conversely, I have for the most part, supported Representative White’s efforts to look under the rug of the oil and gas industry in South Western Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately, because of the recent social media disclosures, his work on this important issue has been badly damaged and his actions have caused irreparable harm to the cause, for all of us.

            At the risk of making a point that goes without saying, there is a deep chasm separating the politician who seeks elective office to become a statesman, where there are two sides to every issue, and one who seeks elective office to advance an individual personality cult and/or to acquire a dedicated power base.  The latter type of politician seeks to make enemies in order to carve out a following and make a name for himself, without regard for good governance.

 Similar to the case before us, there are also lawyers who become emotionally attached to their client’s causes and journalists who are unable to stay unbiased when reporting on political events.  In all these cases, professionalism is forgotten; unwarranted blame is assessed against the perceived “enemy” and little of worth is accomplished.

            I would like to make a few observations on social media in this affair.  I have written in the past that those futurists who predict that these new methods of communication will soon become the vehicle for local news and replace newspapers are dead wrong.  Jesse White’s antics help prove my point. Facebook, twitter, hidden e-mail identities and the like are fraught with emotional knee jerk reactions and outright falsehoods that belie accurate reporting. (The O-R was correct in canceling impossible to verify comments to editorial letters on its online site)

On the other hand, there is nothing unique in what Representative White was attempting to do.  Since the invention of the printing press, writers have used false or hidden names to advance their agendas.  Heretical theologians did so to save their heads.  In Paris before the French Revolution, everyone tried to guess the authors of the hundreds of political pamphlets circulating on the streets.  What makes this episode more egregious is that it feels like an attack on our democratic principles when an elected official seeks to boost his political standing by secretly creating online fictitious supporters.  Jesse White avatars run amuck.  A little like science fiction and a little like a trip to the graveyard to manufacture votes on Election Day.

 It is difficult to believe that Representative White could have gained much political traction through these self serving and childish actions.  When his older constituents, who make up a majority of the voters, read about the allegations, they will have little idea what all the fuss is about.  Most of them have never been on facebook or read an e-mail response to an online letter.  They know Mr. White through the newspaper, the last township meeting or the local bingo.

 In other words, his game playing if left undetected, would have had little influence on Jesse White the candidate.  Somehow I think that Mr. White knew this.  His online actions were about “being right” and “getting the enemy” not about getting votes.

Initially lying and blaming the investigation on his political opponents and then changing his story to “my opponents made me do it” was not sound damage control.  He should have done a complete mea culpa and parked his ego in the closet.  Even a loose cannon like ex Congressman Anthony Weiner was able to be more contrite after his social networking exploits.

  Representative White can probably recover from this self inflicted wound by taking some of his boundless energy and directing it in a more statesmanlike manner to the issues at hand.  I hope that he does.  A lot less sniping and a lot more legislating and measured discourse would be good for his district and for his political future.