Mr. Knowitall

Correct me if I am wrong, but no one wants the label Mr. Knowitall. That’s how many of us felt about our parents who were always ramming their half-baked ideas down our throats. We swore we would never be like them. One problem with Mr. Knowitall is that we  know he is trying to impress us with his vast store of knowledge. But worse than that obnoxious trait is that he really thinks he knows it all. He has nothing left to learn. So he listens very little and pontificates often. Communication is a one-way street. Yes, shes can be knowitalls too! 

None of us likes to be wrong, especially when we are arguing with friends and relatives. But it is the essential nature of our world that we are usually wrong. Most of the valuable or interesting things are complicated if not uncertain. What is the best way to raise your child? What is the best diet for you? What is the best way to get from Bloomington, IN to Burnsville, NC? How do you eliminate poverty? How do you stop chipmunks from digging under the foundation of your house? What is the best way to stop terrorism?

The above questions are debatable. There are two or more sides to each question. While there might seem to be a best answer today to one of these questions, we know that there is no guarantee that provisional knowledge today is perfect or that what worked yesterday will work today or tomorrow. Things change and therefore so do the correct answers. Correct answers are never 100% correct and are qualified or transient depending on changing conditions.

One response is to think that there is never a correct answer and since we are always wrong, we might as well have no opinion. While that might be good for some people, another option is to accept what you think is the best answer today but keep an open mind about what might change your opinion tomorrow. We lope along over time searching for the best truths.

While that might sound overly philosophical, another way of saying all this is that most of us try to learn. We read, we talk to people, we watch television. And best of all, we argue. Argue? Are you kidding? One connotation of argument is two sweaty red-faced people with different opinions trying to win at any price. Call him names! Make fun of her parents? Associate him with a cult. Whatever you have to do, argue to win!

But argument doesn’t have to be like that. Argument can be the best thing you did that day. Argument can be the way you learn. To argue a point, you have to first become acquainted with the topic. You then put together your best argument for a specific result. You might say spanking is a good approach to child-rearing. Your adversary, if you listen to her, will explain why it isn’t the best approach. If you both really listen, you might learn some things that you overlooked. Or you might raise the importance of something you thought was unimportant. The point is that no one knows everything. 

Argument is a wonderful way for spirited people to learn more. There is nothing like a contest to make you work harder. The everyday contest of argument is what can make us stronger and more confident about what we think we know. But it can also make us more humble and willing to keep learning. 

What bothers me today is that I see very few examples of people learning from each other when it comes to the most important issues of our day. People seem quite adept at memorizing an ideological mantra. They shout it at an opponent. And when something comes out of the mouth of the opponent, they shout their mantra louder. The opponent then shouts louder still. This is one-way communication at its worst, and it leads to zero learning. 

I had the loveliest conversation with one of my children recently. And yes, JD was involved.  It was about immigration. I was so proud of both of us because we listened to each other. I think we are each better informed because we both spoke and listened. I am not sure that either one of us changed our minds considerably, but I do think the conversation opened some new doors for learning and making future decisions. I feel especially blessed to have a family composed of people who try to keep learning and do it by arguing with and listening to each other.

The National Football League

I had to do it. I had to get sucked into this mess. I am a card-carrying global macroeconomist and here I am writing about the NFL. Does the NFL cause inflation or recessions? No, I think not. Does the NFL cause productivity or wages to rise? I doubt it. But here I am writing about it.

As one of my friends wrote me recently, why would anyone be interested in macro when there is all this other stuff to talk about? He told me that only the elites care about the usual macro policy issues. So, on to the NFL.

So what do I say? I thought long and hard and here is what I could come up with: The NFL is the canary in the mine shaft. The NFL is the beginning of a road that leads directly to chaos and eventually bloody revolution.

That’s a big statement, right? I just watched part of the Vietnam film on PBS, and it reminded me that we are not immune to violence and revolution in the USA. People my age participated in mistakes in Vietnam and were glad when the Cold War seemed to end. We also experienced the Civil Rights protests and were glad to see that situation improved. But it has been a while since all that transpired and it is not unbelievable that we have come full circle. It is quite possible that what we are seeing in the NFL is just the beginning of some very tough times ahead.

The end of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Revolution brought positive change. In the 1970s, one would have expected a great period of healing to follow – and maybe it did. It is one thing for whites and blacks and capitalists and communists to be ignorant of each other. It might follow that as we joined closer together, as in any marriage, many problems would be solved. But what we did not expect is that when we got to know each other a little better we would sometimes get on each other’s nerves. As we all became more equal, some got equal faster than others and some got less equal.

A half a century later we find that the world might be fairer than it was in 1960. But we also find as we become more familiar and equal, we have new and larger problems between capitalists and communists, blacks and whites, gays and heteros, JD and Scotch drinkers. (I had to get JD in somewhere!)

Conservatives can defend their records and describe how much minorities have gained in the last half-century. Liberals can point out the vast inequalities that remain. This is not an argument that can be resolved easily. Major progress on income distribution, job discrimination, crime, policing, immigration, national security and defense will not come easily. These are tough nuts to crack. Solutions won't reduce to ”my way or the highway.”

Reasoned approaches to our most difficult challenges are not to be had. And the NFL is the beautiful example of why. Our President said horrible things about our players and our players responded in kind. Is this stupid or what? We have proper forums to work through sensitive national issues. Why are those fleet of feet and marbled by muscle feeling the need to make their political desires known at NFL games? Why do actors do the same at award ceremonies? Why do college students wear masks and beat each other with sticks on campus?

I think this is because the answers to the questions are tougher than we are. We either want or don't want dramatic change. We want to be on the right side. We want to curse at those who disagree with us. But the truth is that the more we act in these ways, the less headway we make and the more entrenched our adversaries become.

That all this has come to the NFL shows how far we have come down a very bad road. Does it seem far-fetched that these behaviors will come to baseball? To college athletics? To Macy’s holiday parade? To a local music concert? To your next family gathering? It does not seem impossible that, in light of the lack of any real leadership in this country, we will keep playing out our demand for a better world outside of regular political/government frameworks. It also does not seem impossible that those who are the most frustrated will bring their impatience and hatred to situations that will give them notoriety. With all the sides hardening, it is not difficult to imagine even more violence in even more places.

Where is the national leader who will tell us that these behaviors are counter-productive and convince us of the following: First, our situation today in the USA is enviable compared to most places around the world. Second, we made a start to become the shining light on the hill. Third, some of the hardest challenges are ahead of us. And finally, we are good enough to meet those challenges.  Can you think of one politician today who could pass this muster?

Why I Want to Turn my Digital TV into a Hat Rack

Here’s a spout. Rose and Merlin were brother and sister. Rose played soccer and generally liked math. Merlin played in the orchestra and loved to photograph orchids. They hardly agreed on anything. Their arguments often got heated.  Rose would say – “you are mean and you called Daddy a monster.” Merlin would retort – “you are a pig and Mommy loves me more than you.” One day they were confronted by an evil visitor from outer space who threatened their very existence.  They were both worried but instead of working together to overwhelm the predator they took the occasion to yell at each other one more time. Rose started –“ if you had washed the dishes last night as required, none of this would have ever happened. “Merlin quipped, yes, but you are fat and ugly.” Rose and Merlin were never seen again.

So you are saying – Larry has clearly gone off the deep end. People have been saying that a long time so there must be another reason for me writing the above paragraph.

I am writing this paragraph after reading and re-reading my own words below and realizing it is possible for people to get the wrong idea – the opposite of what I am trying to say. The bottom line is that we have VERY challenging issues to deal with in the USA.  These are made even harder by a divided government. It is tempting to up the rhetoric but that might make it even harder to find solutions for security, defense, employment, health care and other pressing issues. The below spout is not meant to single out any one side or person.  As most parents find themselves saying – “I don’t care which one of you did it – you both can go to your rooms and right now!”  I am not taking sides here. Both sides can hate me equally!

I am REALLY irritated by the political fighting concerning the Tucson massacre of this past weekend. Some people are being somewhat careful with their words. Some are not. Let’s face it – some people on the left are using this shooting as a way to point a mean finger at their adversaries. They associate what is so far being called a crime by a deranged shooter with statements made by politicians on the right. In private people are saying what they really feel and they are even more ugly and vindictive about their political enemies. I don’t like to use the term political enemy but when I hear the adjectives some people use I cannot help but classify their categorizations of those with differences in political opinions as enemies. Of course, some of those on the right are not exactly making things better as they defend themselves and counter attack.

This is crazy. How many days will we spend listening to talking heads discuss whether or not the deranged killer was motivated by right-wing politicians? How much time will we waste hearing our right-wing friends defend themselves and counter attack and name-call their detractors?

Not all of the discussion is wrong headed if it seeks to protect better politicians and the rest of us from crazies and others who seek to hurt us individually or collectively.

But come on – most of what I am seeing and hearing is not directed that way. Here is what I don’t understand and what I am spouting about.

First, what religion or spiritual body of thought supports this mean-spirited talk?  

Second, why are they wasting our time with useless diatribes? Do we not have real and urgent problems to deal with?

Third, are our politicians so tired of battling the real and tough issues that they find it easier to lob stupid bombs at each other?  

Fourth, do these talking heads have some real data or information that has uncovered a plot by right-wingers to use weapons and other means of violence to take over America?

Fifth, have left wingers never advocated violence against the rich, big corporations, or the powerful?

Sixth, are there not always fringe persons in our free society who seek to incite fear, hurt, and kill the rest of us?

Seventh, would we not all be better off if we worked together to protect us from these crazies?

Rose and Merlin are fictitious people and the story about them is silly. But why do we act like them? The USA allows freedom of speech and we have a right to say intelligent and stupid things. Neither the left nor the right has a corner on the stupid statements. I just wish the rest of us weren’t so often brought into it. What irony. Now that I finally purchased a digital TV I find myself wanting to use it as a hat rack.