For What It's Worth

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On Fear, Expertise, and the Responsibility of Paying Attention

(10 minute read)

Key Takeaways:

• Sleepwalking is a choice we can reverse. Many of us are ignoring genuine, unprecedented threats to our democracy — and that awareness itself is the first act of resistance.
• Low-information citizenship is a democracy’s Achilles heel. Confirmation bias and information silos don’t just limit understanding — they make citizens susceptible to manipulation, eroding the shared reality democracy depends on.
• Expertise still matters, even when it’s imperfect. Dismissing experts because they’re occasionally wrong or stray outside their lane is a dangerous overcorrection. Vetted knowledge, however flawed, is preferable to opinion dressed up as fact.
• Individual commitment to truth and dialogue is a form of civic action. Living deliberately — staying informed, speaking up, and resisting passivity — is not a small thing. It’s how a society begins to change.

When Fear Has a Point

As an educator, I encouraged students to step outside their comfort zones through public speaking, presentations, research papers, and internships—helping them transition from academic studies into careers.

Sometimes fear can be a powerful motivator. Those who perform well under pressure do so despite feeling fear, and recognizing and channeling that fear as motivation can determine success or failure.

But the fear I’m writing about here is different. This kind sneaks up unnoticed until it’s too late.

I recently read an article by Tom Nichols, a retired professor at the U.S. War Naval College. He’s now writing for The Atlantic and his article “Americans Are Sleepwalking Through a National Emergency” is a rallying cry.

Nichols first caught my attention with his NYTimes best-selling book, “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters,” which ranks among my top five books on education.

In the article, Nichols writes: “The United States of America is facing a threat from a sometimes violent cult while a nuclear-armed power wages war on the border of our closest allies. And yet, many Americans sleepwalk as if they are living in normal times.”

Many years ago, a history teacher said something I have always remembered. He suggested that every generation believes it is living in unique times, convinced that its experiences are unlike any other. The aim of his comment was clear: it serves as a reminder not to deceive ourselves, and to recognize how tempting it can be to feel special by believing this.

However, some things happening today are genuinely different.

Nichols offers a stark example: “A federal prosecutor has asked a judge to stop the former president of the United States from threatening lawyers and witnesses in his case, and intimidating potential jurors.” He then adds, “Let that paragraph sink in.” These are warnings Nichols has never sounded before.

What happens when we finally wake to find the country resembling a slow-moving train wreck? The familiar landscape becomes alien, revealing a stark and unsettling reality that extends far beyond our personal lives into the fabric of society itself.

Overall, the days we are living in may not be so different from our past. However, it is safe to say that there are events taking place that certainly seem to be setting a precedent. Nichols is not prone to exaggeration and the article falls short of going into full panic mode. But the warnings he provides are his sternest to date.

In these moments, confusion, anxiety, fear, and a mix of hope and despair are forcing us to reflect on how to navigate our turbulent times.

Politics? Really?

Most of the essays you’ll find here are grounded in years of study and research—some of which I would gladly have skipped.

During my graduate studies, I distinctly remember longing for the days when I didn’t have to research and write about topics someone else had decided were important. In hindsight, it turns out they all were. A personal example of not being able to see the forest for the trees.

These days, the forest is a lot clearer. Now, in my retirement, I can write about the topics that interest me most. Today it is politics, an arena that has increasingly shaped our daily lives and interactions over the past decade.

Everything now seems tied to politics, influencing not only the headlines but also the conversations we have around the dinner table and the choices we make at the ballot box. As we grapple with complex issues, it becomes essential to recognize their political implications and to engage thoughtfully in the discourse that surrounds them.

The economy, law enforcement, healthcare, birth rates, death rates, education, international relationships, crime, the U.S. penal system—can anyone read or write about these matters without addressing the politics that directly shape them?

Everything. Is. Politics.

Why It Matters

Most of us are busy with careers and families. Much of that time is spent on routine tasks, and we increasingly rely on instant communication for information. Sometimes that deluge becomes overwhelming, and when we try to pause, FOMO (fear of missing out) takes over.

Processing all this information is time-consuming. We must analyze details, determine their relevance, and synthesize it all with full attention. The complexity can be confusing, leading to uncertainty and a sense of overwhelm.

To navigate this landscape, we must prioritize what truly matters, recognizing its significance so we can make informed decisions about our future. This isn’t straightforward—it requires careful thought, collaboration, and sometimes debate with those we trust to align our focus with both immediate needs and long-term goals.

Looking To The Experts

For high-information citizens, processing current events is essential work. We analyze details, determine their relevance, and synthesize information with full attention. For low-information citizens, however, this work holds little appeal; entertainment often motivates them more than understanding.

Definitions may vary among experts, but low-information citizens typically vote infrequently or not at all. They lack knowledge about issues outside their narrow interests. When they do vote, it’s usually based on party affiliation or one or two key issues that matter to them—often only during presidential elections.

While education divides some voters along party lines, low-information voters exist across the political spectrum. Compared to their high-information peers, they’re more prone to embracing stereotypes and less likely to fact-check politicians’ claims.

This is where Nichols’ book becomes essential. As citizens in a democracy, we’re obligated to critically engage with information and trust vetted data. Yet many low-information citizens resist this work, dismissing it as too time-consuming.

The silo effect—a form of confirmation bias—helps explain why. This information echo chamber breeds complacency: opposing viewpoints are dismissed outright, existing beliefs go unchallenged, and one-sided arguments repeat endlessly.

When we rely on one or two news sources or social media platforms to filter information, whatever appears there gets accepted as gospel. The problem is clear: many people claiming expertise offer bias and opinion over facts. And if an actual expert contradicts our worldview, we dismiss them without a second thought.

Experts face numerous obstacles to credibility. Some, as they gain status, venture opinions outside their expertise. Society pushes back when expert predictions prove wrong. And expertise in one field doesn’t guarantee knowledge across an entire discipline, let alone in other fields entirely.

One of the hazards of having initials behind a name, like Ph.D., is that those who have earned the degrees hesitate to admit ignorance. They are afraid to admit, “I do not know” when answering a question. After all, aren’t they supposed to know …everything?

But summarily dismissing an expert because they have the degrees is just plain lazy. Who else can we depend on other than those who have been willing to spend their life studying their field?

It Matters

Democracy in the U.S. may or may not be in its final days. It’s not yet time to panic. I tend not to be hyperbolic about such matters, sometimes to a fault. While others panic, I’m usually the one encouraging calm.

But when I see a warning like Nichols provides, I take it to heart. Our days may seem overwhelming, leaving us to wonder what we can really do to change things. The feeling of intellectual impotence can loom large. However, there is plenty we can do.

The first step is to simply and strategically talk about it. Talking may not seem like the best strategy, especially around family with differing viewpoints. However, it is crucial that dialogue continues—with questions, comments, and concerns. It is an empowering exercise.

Second, if minority voices are raised without opposing voices to balance them, the scales tip. People may perceive the minority voice as the majority voice—a phenomenon I’ll explore further in a later post.

The Dalai Lama was once asked: what can one person do against forces that oppose a peaceful and harmonious life?

His answer is surprising.

First, we must be a person dedicated to living a life of peace and harmony. One life lived that way counteracts ten lives dedicated to death and destruction. Second, if we face forces ready to destroy lives dedicated to peace and harmony, we must combat these forces with equal measure.

In other words, we defend ourselves and way of life by overcoming those opposing forces with proportional force.

I understand the first part of his answer. It could easily have been uttered by a rabbi, priest, minister, or imam. I’m less certain about the one-to-ten ratio. There is nothing magical about Earth’s ether, nor is there a cosmic ledger in the sky counting such things.

The second part of his answer is far more radical than I expected. But I understand it equally.

A Country Apart

Many of us believe this country is deeply divided. Half the population is accused of operating from alternate facts and values. The other half is accused of embracing cancel culture and woke ideology.

Yet despite this perceived split, polling has consistently shown that nearly three-quarters of the population or more continue to believe in the American democratic ideals and values that have endured for decades. In another poll, two-thirds of Americans affirm that democracy is the best form of governance, though a majority—51%—say our government is doing a poor job maintaining it.

Many of the concerns we face today are ones previous generations shared as well.* However, there are things happening now that truly are unique—the threat of nuclear annihilation and a political movement dedicated to dismantling democracy itself, to name two.

When trusted experts urge us to pay closer attention to our surroundings, we should listen.

Living a life committed to peace and harmony is one thing. It’s another to actively resist forces determined to take it away. The current political climate makes certain things unmistakably clear: the minority party is determined to seize and consolidate power at any cost.

Consider Project 2025—a 900-page conservative policy blueprint and transition project published by The Heritage Foundation. It details a radical restructuring of the U.S. federal government designed to consolidate executive power and rapidly implement right-wing policies under Donald Trump. The agenda outlines sweeping changes to immigration, reproductive rights, climate policy, and the federal civil service.**

This is not abstract politics — it is a concrete plan already in motion. I am doing what I can to oppose this movement. My voice may echo into the void, but I remain committed to staying awake—and to encouraging you to do the same. Together, perhaps we can keep that commitment alive.

*See Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack feed Letters From An American.

**Editor’s note: Since this essay’s initial publication, Project 2025 has been and continues to be implemented by the current White House administration.