Who Would You Believe?

Mrs. Knight and I recently rented the movie 'Thank You For Smoking.' It's the story of Nick Naylor who works as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry. In one scene, Nick is at his son's school where the class is learning what it is exactly that their parents do for a living. When Nick's turn comes up he explains that he helps promote cigarettes and smoking. This gets the class' attention and sparks some dialogue.

Kid: My Mommy says smoking kills.
Nick: Oh, is your Mommy a doctor?
Kid: No.
Nick: A scientific researcher of some kind?
Kid: No.
Nick: Well then she's hardly a credible expert, is she?

It's actually a pretty funny scene.

When you're 5 or 10 years old, you believe what your parents tell you.

'Brush and floss or you'll lose your teeth.' 'Bundle up so you don't catch a cold.'

Their intentions are in our best interest. We believe them because they're our parents and we trust them, not because we think that they are experts on every subject.

But when politicians tell us something, many are quick to believe them because they're politicians, not because they're experts.

Take for example former Vice-President Al Gore. He tells us the dangers of global warming, and to his credit, he has done his homework on the subject. But is he an expert?

I'm more interested in what a seasoned meteorologist or a climatologist has to say on the subject because they're the people who study weather for a living. Even if some do believe in global warming and its dangers, they're more likely to have based their theory on hard data and their years of experience. They stand to gain little by their stance on it. That's key, too, because they don't have something that a politician does: The ability to use the force of government to restrict the way we live our lives.

A meteorologist or climatologist can't introduce legislation. A politician can and probably will.

Global warming is just one example. How many times have we heard a politician tell us how a new government program or legislation is going to help our economy? Would you be more inclined to listen to a politician explain economics... or an economic professor who stands to gain nothing from his explanation?

People want their elected officials to have answers and provide solutions. But politicians aren't experts on everything. They make our lives worse when they pass laws that deal with things they know little or nothing about. Luckily we have an established set of rules that restricts what our politicians can do to us. It's the U.S. Constitution.

Unfortunately, politicians aren't experts on that either.