Failed institutions

Are things really worse now, or do we just notice it more?

These days, it seems like a cynic’s paradise. Record prices are being set for food and fuel; political corruption is all around; a company that was founded on providing wholesome family entertainment is now embracing the interests of pedophile groomers; and too many people are intimidated from speaking their minds.

Some days, it feels like virtually every aspect of life is affected by speech codes, and the absurd notion that what a few misfits say on Twitter is representative of a major trend.

Take the recent tragic death of struggling NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins, hit by a truck as he was walking across a Florida Interstate highway. Truth be told, Haskins had made a series of bad decisions, starting with leaving Ohio State early to turn pro, and demonstrating a less-than-impressive work ethic with the then Washington Redskins.

While his death inspired the usual amount of sympathy and overpraise, there were a few football types who expressed sorrow, but also did mention his history of poor attitude and bad decisions.

Evidently, though, such commentary is not to be tolerated, as it is “hurtful.” Indeed, those who dared voice these thoughts were roundly attacked.

But, here’s the point: While there is nothing we can do to bring Haskins back, we CAN possibly save some other gifted Black athlete from going wrong by invoking a negative example. That was surely why his faults were mentioned, but naturally in the wake of the woke mob, the commentators groveled and apologized.

Whatever happened to standing your ground?

Of course, this phenomenon also works in reverse. You may recall that when the Hunter Biden laptop revelations were published by the New York Post, the findings were condemned by a Hallelujah chorus of “experts,” who identified them as “Russian disinformation.”

Now that the information promulgated by the Post is widely regarded as accurate, not a single one of these experts has apologized for their remarks. Why should they? Paul Ehrlich made a career of failed environmental predictions, and he is still admired by many. On the other hand, no one can deny how worthless their insights really were.

Perhaps, that’s the takeaway here. As William Goldman famously said, “Nobody knows anything.” Goldman was referring to the fact that no one could predict what would—or would not—be a hit movie.

I would expand this into applying to expertise in general. Even though institutions were failing long before the Vietnam War, “genius” defense secretary Robert McNamara assured the nation that on paper, and by any measure, we would destroy the enemy. Instead, the US suffered a humiliating defeat, and has never won a war since. (Not that Korea was a great success, either.)

The sad fact is that institutions always fail, because they are composed of fallible humans. Certainly, given some success, humans will be promoted, and their opinions will be given greater credibility—until they are inevitably wrong.

When you add politics to the equation, institutions become corrupt, and once they approach a certain size almost always act against the original interest of their founding members. (cf. AARP and the AMA) Making it worse is that some crusading individual may come in, only to eventually become part of the establishment they were originally fighting against.

It goes without saying that government officials—especially those holding federal office—consider their “service” to be a career. How far have we strayed from the Founders’ vision of a successful citizen giving something back for a limited amount of time.

Thus, we are left to our own devices—rugged individuals, if you like. We must focus on ourselves and those close to us. Saving the world or our country is way too tall an order. Worse, it can be misdirection and an excuse.

If there ARE any real experts, you’ve probably never heard of them since they are selling their services to private clients, and I don’t mean to trial lawyers.

Sadly, times are always bad, and it is only by selective memory that we recall the “good old days.” Every generation worries about its children, and every generation hates its political leaders. Exceptions occur when these leaders develop a cult of personality, and that only makes things worse, since we are blinded to their flaws.

It’s really simple. We can keep complaining about current events, or we can focus on those matters over which we have some control. Institutions will always fail, but as individuals we can pursue excellence and what is right.