Everyone Is an Expert
Everyone is an expert…after the fact. Before the flames are out and the smoke has cleared, before the floodwaters recede, or the investigation concludes, the self-appointed authorities arrive on their high horses. They ride in on hindsight, armed with aspersions, crossed swords of conflation, and a polished sense of moral superiority. From the comfort of distance and delay, they assume omniscience and declare themselves better than the people who were actually there. The firefighters, engineers, doctors, scientists, officials, and volunteers who had to make decisions in real time, with imperfect information and real-world consequences.
This brand of criticism has a predictable habitat, social media. It requires no risk, no accountability, and no contribution. Just a pair of lips, two thumbs, and an assumed audience. There is no skin in the game beyond the fleeting satisfaction of being heard. The psychology behind it, talks for itself. Studies in cognitive bias reveal to us that the bias found within hindsight convinces people that outcomes were obvious all along. While the Dunning–Kruger effect emboldens those with the least understanding to speak with the most confidence. Then add the dopamine hit of likes and shares, and you have a perfect storm of loud certainty paired with shallow insight. Whether it’s a fire response, flooding mitigation, an accident investigation, or the judgment of trained professionals, this commentary rarely helps. It doesn’t save lives, rebuild homes, or improve systems. It sows the seeds of fake news and ”us-versus-them” narratives. If anything, it mostly advertises the commentator as opinionated, idle, and convinced of their own importance. Often it reads less like concern and more like loneliness, mere noise filling a void, moral outrage standing in for meaningful purpose. If you truly care, or truly believe you are intellectually superior, there’s a simple test. Where is your action? Why aren’t you in the field you claim to understand so well? Why aren’t you volunteering, training, serving, or contributing in a way that bears cost and responsibility? Critique without contribution is easy and cheap; commitment is expensive, and requires sacrifice.
Our country doesn’t need more jawbones; we already have too many useless politicians. We need more backbones. Less commentary from behind a screen and more people willing to get off their arse and into the work. The world out there doesn’t change because of words typed during or after the fact; it changes because of actions taken before, during, and after, by people with spines willing to carry the weight and do the hard work.
