On our mantle we have a sign that says, “This House Believes.” But what is it we believe? Is our sign about religion, magic, politics, cars, art, music…What? All the above, none of the above; but regardless, my beliefs are my own, aren’t they? WELL, AREN’T THEY?
There seems to be lot of dissent today about who or what to believe in. The problem with a belief is that it requires no real supporting data or substantiation of anything other than what the believer is willing to accept.
According to my ever-present Webster’s dictionary, belief is “a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing,” “a conviction of the truth.”
Generally, researchers present that most of us are exposed to the seeds of our beliefs when in our youth through concepts presented by family, church, school or from a single significant person, such as a parent or family member, pastor, teacher, friend, or mentor. Later, we tend to draw general conclusions from a few specific observations which reinforce our seed of belief making it stronger to eventually become entrenched as a conviction, and once that level is reached any contradicting data/information is typically discarded or ignored.
As early as the second century, Europeans believed that all swans were white, and up through the sixteenth century the term “black swan” came to mean “an impossible or non-existent” event. Then Dutch traders discovered black swans in Australia.
First, understand it was the early Europeans who posited “all swans are white” and because they had no contrary knowledge otherwise, to them this belief became a fact. Second, the Australians always knew swans could be a color other than white, and likely did not even know nor care about the European viewpoint.
The dilemma for the Europeans was to discard or keep a comfortable belief that may likely be untrue considering the new information. Researcher Nassim Taleb presents a viewpoint that we tend to judge events by using the standard bell curve with 70% of our experiences grouped in day-to-day occurrences, whereas the remaining 15%/15% fall into the extremes of the curve. Take driving as an example, where 70% of us have never been in an accident, received a speeding ticket, or had any other negative vehicular experience. It would be easy to get locked into “white swan” thinking to the point that we don’t wear seatbelts or fail to drive with more caution during inclement weather. And the longer we drive without a negative event the more entrenched we become in believing we are really good drivers. Conversely, those who have been in an accident become more open to “black swan” possibilities and typically become more safety conscious after an event, especially a traumatic one and even more so if it was us who caused the accident in the first place.
In a less extreme example, I have friends who only drive Chevy vehicles, and remind me that FORD stands for “Fix Or Repair Daily” and “Found On Road Dead.” Another friend, who is a motorcyclist, will only drive Harleys, calling Hondas “Rice Burners.” So, somewhere in their past lives, they became so entrenched in their choices of vehicles they still denigrate not only the other vehicles but also those who drive them. I learned early not to try to dissuade them from their biases as my efforts only made them dig in their heels even more; as Webster notes, they are standing in “conviction of their truths.”
In 1990, singer/songwriter Aaron Tippen released “You’ve Got To Stand for Something (or You’ll Fall for Anything)” which is a story about his father telling him that he (Aaron) needs to have moral convictions and not back down when others threaten them. It’s an inspiring song but taken to the extreme one can easily justify not being open to opposing viewpoints or information.
The root of the problem, of course, is deciding which data to trust. Science has changed so much that medical data of old is no longer valid, making us think that current medical information may also one day be found to be invalid. Likewise, our governmental policies change with every party shift, sometimes as frequently as every two to four years. And who knows how agencies like OSHA, FDA, EPA, and IRS get through the mountains of constantly shifting information they not only face but also hand out. Then there are different and conflicting beliefs regarding religion, education, patriotism, criminal justice, social programs, and others.
I do agree with Aaron Tippen as there are many beliefs for which I will stand and won’t compromise, but there will always be this nagging thought I may one day come face-to-face with my own black swans. In any conflict with others I truly hope there will be room in the discussion for me to change my mind (not theirs) and maybe even admit that my belief on a given subject just might be wrong, but as set in my ways as I am today, it will have to take a pretty big swan to do either.
Best of the New Year for all, and let’s be safe out there.
