I am surprised how often I have a strong opinion about things I know little or nothing about. When I find myself in that situation, it seems that my lack of knowledge is not a hindrance; I repeat my strong opinion over and over, with greater confidence each time. I stand my ground, often standing there alone.
From a gender perspective, an example of this would be “mansplaining” and can be quite annoying to the recipient; from a global pandemic perspective, an example would be the pros and cons of vaccines, masks and mandates. And it is downright dangerous.
My call to action – to myself, and to anyone reading this – is to refrain from having strong opinions or decisions on anything without the data. Make data-driven decisions. Do the work. Collect and analyze data from multiple credible sources before deciding or expressing your opinion. I have recently been excusing (or recusing) myself from discussions about covid, the vaccine, and mask-wearing if I find myself not up-to-date on the most recent findings, data, and trends. I have finally realized that it is irresponsible for me to express either an uninformed or not current opinion on such an important topic.
The issue of how to manage a global pandemic – or how to create racial equity, or how to combat the climate crisis – while urgent and important issues, often tend to highlight the fact that most of us do not do the work required to have an informed opinion about most things. More importantly, we need to own it. We need to be honest about what is truly driving our thinking, opinions, and actions. We all need to do a little personal archeology and dig into where our opinions really come from and why.
Do yourself and others a favor and do the real research necessary around any important issue that you feel strongly about. Read both sides, get the data, dial down the rhetoric, and have an honest dialogue with those who see it differently from you. Find the common ground.
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