I’m Smarter Than You and Your Institutions Too!

Is there a reason a little old grey haired Caucasian lady cannot enter the Taylor-Zimmerman fray?  I don’t think so.  Hence, my thoughts on the whole mess in this context:  I was not on the jury.  I did not watch the trial.  I have not reviewed the evidence or listened to the jurors “Monday Morning Quarterback” themselves, which if nothing else is truly bizarre.  There are some issues that for me merit additional thought, however.

We have reached an interesting time in our nation when a ½ Peruvian man shoots a Black boy and the issue is perceived as racial and the verdict is perceived as racial.  The message is if I see it as racial then by definition it is racial.  I am smarter than the prosecuting and defense attorneys, not to mention the jurors.

We have reached an interesting time in our nation when the trial and jury system established by our founding fathers is consistently questioned by folks who did not participate in the process.  I am concerned about the message sent by those not there who now attack a verdict.  Have we lost all confidence in the American judicial system?  Is each one of us smarter than our 200 year old process?  The message is I am smarter than our judicial system.

We have reached an interesting time in our nation when a man can arm himself and walk his neighborhood, playing protector.  What are we thinking?  A non-trained civilian, armed, walking a neighborhood, looking for trouble is a good thing?  Worse, when the police advise this man what to do he ignores that advice.  Scares the bejeezus out of me.  The message is I am not only smarter than law enforcement; I am smarter than any expert in any field.

I have lamented the observation that everyone is now an expert on public education.  It appears that this lament was far too narrow in scope.  We must now recognize that everyone is a racial expert, a jury trial expert, a law enforcement expert.  Each of us is smarter than you and the institutions you support. 

If I believe that, if I believe that somehow my opinions equal knowledge and expertise, then all our institutions are in jeopardy, not just public education.  Frankly, when it comes to public education I truly do know more than non-educators, I am smarter, my opinion is based on training and expertise.  When it comes to other institutional issues, I may have opinions, but have no real expertise.  My opinion does not count in these areas.  Protesting the outcomes of an American institution bothers me deeply.

Have we all become so smart that we do not recognize there are things we do not know?  I do not know what I do not know, but I know that there are many things I do not know.  When I find those areas I am the student, not the master. 

Bottom line for me in the Zimmerman case is the post verdict verdict:  All of us are smarter than all of us including those with expertise.  I am smarter than you and your institutions.  My opinion by definition is right.

Yet, I recognize all of the above is just my opinion and my observations.  Those should not be the basis for decision making, but perhaps the basis for reflection.  That is my goal.

I am not right just because I think this way. 

Scary, scary times.