I’ve been stewing on something since the Vice Presidential debate ended several Tuesdays ago. It’s something that JD Vance said, and it really has stuck with me. And not in a good way. It’s in the wanting-to-scream-at-anyone-who-will-listen way. Here’s the quote:
This has to stop. And we’re not going to stop it by listening to experts. We’re going to stop it by listening to common sense wisdom, which is what Donald Trump governed on.
Now, Vance was specifically talking about free trade and how he (and his running mate) thinks that the idea of free trade has led to the downfall of the American economy. Here’s the context:
Vance:
Governor, you say trust the experts, but those same experts for 40 years said that if we shipped our manufacturing base off to China, we’d get cheaper goods. They lied about that. They said if we shipped our industrial base off to other countries, to Mexico and elsewhere, it would make the middle class stronger. They were wrong about that. They were wrong about the idea that if we made America less self-reliant, less productive in our own Nation, that it would somehow make us better off. And they were wrong about it.
Walz’s response:
Now, you made a question about experts, said this, I made a note of this. “Economists don’t, can’t be trusted. Science can’t be trusted. National security folks can’t be trusted.” Look, if you’re going to be President, you don’t have all the answers. Donald Trump believes he does. My pro tip of the day is this, if you need heart surgery, listen to the people at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, not Donald Trump. And the same thing goes with this and I ask you out there, teachers, nurses, truck drivers, whatever, how is it fair that you’re paying your taxes every year and Donald Trump hasn’t paid any Federal Tax 10 to last 15 years, in the last year as President? That’s what’s wrong with the system. There’s a way around it. And he’s bragged about that. We’re just asking for fairness in it, and that’s all you want.
Whether Vance is ultimately right about free trade, I can’t say. It is not a topic I am well-versed in. I’m not an expert. But what he says in the main quote strikes at the very heart of the problem, as I see it. He doesn’t believe in expertise. His boss doesn’t believe in it. Their followers don’t believe in it. I would even venture to say the Republican Party, in 2024, doesn’t believe in it.
Walz does address the issue head-on in his response. And I’m glad he did. I have a good friend and colleague who is recovering right now from a double-lung transplant. He had access to the foremost expert in the world for his degenerative lung disease. He performed the procedure and my friend came through with flying colors. I’ve been getting updates from his wife several times a day. He’s doing so well, and I couldn’t be happier, or more appreciative, of his doctor.
Would my friend have trusted just anyone to perform this incredibly complicated procedure? Would you? I wouldn’t. I would want the foremost expert in the world performing the procedure. Why? BECAUSE HE’S AN EXPERT! He went to school for this. He studied, and learned, and practiced, and perfected his skill on his way to becoming the surgeon he is. Has Vance? Has Donald Trump? Has Walz or Harris? Of course not. They’re not experts. No one would theoretically come to them for that kind of help. And that’s ok. In fact, that’s good. That’s how it’s supposed to be. It’s why we have experts.
We (the collective we) are so scared of not having the answers. We are so scared of the intelligence of others? Intelligence that we, ourselves, don’t have. Why is that?
Jayme asked me recently about an email she received from a student re: a missed exam. The student wrote her claiming that their computer was malfunctioning, and the clock on the computer was reading like it was 2001. Their assertion was that because of this malfunction, they didn’t know the deadline for signing up for the exam had been missed. That their online system would not have known because it thought it was the year 2001.
Now, unfortunately for the student, that’s just wrong. And the student was reaching (mightily) to find a way for Jayme to give them another chance to take the exam. Jayme asked me if this made any sense. She assumed it was not correct, but wanted to check. Now, I am not an expert in all things IT, but I do know a little something about how online systems work. You might even say I’m an expert in this particular subject.
Jayme was willing to ask someone who knew more about this subject than she did. Why? Because she wanted the expertise of someone who knew these things inside and out. She wanted to verify. To make sure her intuition was correct. She didn’t not ask me because she knew she’d be right. She didn’t not ask me because her pride would be wounded. No, she just wanted to find the correct answer in order to properly review the student’s claim.
Again, that’s how it’s supposed to work.
This whole topic reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from any television show or movie. From the pilot episode of the “Newsroom”:
That opening scene will knock you back, as it did me. But play close attention starting around the 4:00 mark. Will McAvoy says the following:
We aspired to intelligence. We didn’t belittle it. It didn’t make us feel inferior.
Again I ask: why are we so scared of intelligence? Why are we so scared to trust other people’s intelligence? To trust experts? When did “common sense wisdom” become our guiding light to outshine all others?
I had a terrible realization listening to Scott Galloway on last week’s “Pivot” episode:
It [January 6th] just showed me that I have no political instincts. Because I thought “That’s it.” I thought he [Trump] was going to be in prison. And I thought for sure he’d be out of all public sight whatsoever. And it’s a toss-up right now, for president. I have terrible political instincts. That’s what it taught me.
I’m starting to think I’m right there with Scott. So many believe that Trump’s antics and behavior are “good” for the country. He’s shaking things up. He’s a truth-teller.
Have I lost my instincts? Am I out of step with what “real” America is? Am I what they consider an “elite”?
I don’t know. As I said, I’m not an expert.
