I’m not an expert but I, with the help of my daughters, installed a new microwave above our stove today. Anyone that knows me knows that I am absolutely not a handy person but we accomplished this task in less than 30 minutes which included unloading the cabinet above the microwave, bringing in the new one from the garage, unpacking it, taking down the old microwave and then putting the new one up, refilling the cabinet and cleaning everything up. For a non-expert I think we did wonderfully.
I am not an expert on the sport of football. I cannot tell you what is an A gap or B gap. I can’t tell you anything beyond the most basic football plays and strategies. I can, however, engage in a in-depth conversation about how I think the college football season is going, talk intelligently about individual teams and players and give a good prediction on how the season will end. I’m not always right, not always wrong but we can have a dynamic and fun conversation about the sport and few would doubt that I halfway know what I am talking about.
My question today is – can I apply that same type of thing to conversations about…say…
Tariffs – I am not an expert but I have taken multiple economic classes over the years (I say years because I took classes in the 80s and 90s at a couple of schools and then two more as I finally finished my college classes in the 2020s. I have read plenty on them as well so I believe I could hold a fairly intelligent conversation about them.
Politics – I am not an expert but I have lived for 61 years and had a pretty good interest in the inner workings of politics certainly for the last 30. I know many people say that they try to avoid talking about politics but I view it as sort of like talking about college football – just with more serious outcomes.
The Constitution – I am not an expert but I have a pretty good grasp on the Bill of rights and a working knowledge of the rest of it. I have a couple of copies on my bookcase – I used to keep a copy in my briefcase and even have the app on my phone. I think I can carry on a decent conversation on what constitutes free speech and illegal search and seizure. I’m reading a book about the 2nd amendment right now so I can better understand the various arguments.
There are many other things that I am not an expert in but have a working knowledge about that I wonder if I should write about them in this blog. I believe that many of us – including myself – shy away from serious things because we are not “expert” and thus our opinions will not be valid. I think engaging in the conversations, especially if we are not expert, gives us the opportunity to learn or at least think about things in a way we may not have prior to the conversation. I marvel at folks who can just ask a question without wondering if it is stupid or if they would be thought less of – these are the smart folks! They enter the arena, engage in the conversation and come out more knowledgeable on the other side. (Speaking of “marvel” I am a huge fan of the tv show Modern Marvels. I watch to gain a little more – or a lot more – knowledge than I already have. Not to become an expert – just to learn. It’s a great show!)
I write all of this to say that I will write about things that I am not expert in (which is easy because I am not expert in anything) and by doing so I will hopefully encourage others to do the same and we can learn from each other.
I am not an expert on writing but I am going to write anyway…
MattMunnell.com 