Trust the experts, but only when they earn it

By ALMA MASON

Sheridan High School Student

Editor’s Note: The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abby Williams.

As a species, humans are generalists; but individually, we are specialists. It isn’t possible for one person to know everything and be good at everything, so in order to succeed we all offer something different to society and get other things in return. This has great value in products such as food and shelter – we don’t all have to farm or build our own houses – but can pose challenges in other realms, specifically when it comes to gathering information.

We aren’t all practicing scientists or politicians, and there are some things that we can’t understand because of that. Most people don’t know how to interpret complex statistical analysis or understand a lengthy legal document, so we rely on those who do.

This is increasingly becoming an issue due to the fact that those who do this for us can’t always be trusted. Those appointed as “experts” are no longer widely seen as trustworthy, reliable sources of information. They have their own personal motivations, and their judgement can be clouded by that.

It is becoming more and more obvious that the elite don’t care about the common people. They have authority over us and can use that how they please; but the authority those in power are given should be used to protect the people under them, not to serve their own interests at the expense of those people. This is what we currently have, and have had for a while, and it is bad authority – we should question it. We need to work toward establishing good, trustworthy authority that has the interests of common people as a top priority.

Of course, not all experts and members of the elite have bad intentions – some are genuinely good people who fight for what is right – but when establishments are run by multitudes of questionable people, and we are forced to rely on them for conclusions that affect us greatly, we are put in a difficult position.

We have the right to demand better leaders and question the information that is handed to us. It’s tough to do this in a way that isn’t cynical, and people can sometimes go too far in their distrust of the mainstream, discounting anything that comes from it. This isn’t good either, and brings people farther away from the truth, just in the opposite direction.

It is imperative that we correctly interpret information and are able to trust those above us to do the work when it is beyond our skill level. We rely on them for far more than we realize, and this leaves us vulnerable to manipulation.

One good way to combat this issue is looking at the work of independent journalists and those who aren’t members of the mainstream for information. These individuals are often just as capable and insightful, but don’t have as much skin in the game. We need to listen to people who seek and reveal truths, even when those truths are contrary to the interests of those in power, and many independent journalists do that.

These individuals should be questioned as well, but once people prove themselves to be trustworthy, it becomes easier to listen to them, and it is no longer necessary to persistently question everything that comes from them.

We cannot continue to go down this destructive path of allowing corrupt people to be in power and restrict what information is available to common people. The power is still in our hands, and we need to choose better leaders and recognize the danger that we are in until we do.