Opinions. Everyone has one. Everyone wants to offer their’s to the public. I am no exception. Everyone thinks they are an expert. The easy access we all have to information makes it easy to read summaries and gather information about any topic we want to research. and then, once we have read a little, we form our opinions and want to share those opinions with our “world”. What we forget, though, is that experience plays as great a role in understanding as knowledge.

I’ll never forget an experience I had while attempting what I thought was a basic plumbing repair. After watching several YouTube videos, ordering the appropriate parts, and assembling all of my tools for my “simple” shower cartridge replacement, I found myself unable to properly remove the old one. After struggling for several hours, I finally called a plumber I had know for several years who came the next day and fixed the shower. When he called me to tell me what he had done, he let me know that I had taken a 30-minute job (in the hands of someone with experience) and turned it into a four-hour job. All in an effort to save a little bit of money. Turns out, I didn’t save anything and the cost was actually quite a bit more than if I had called him in the first place. My quickly assembled “knowledge” of basic plumbing could not make up for his acquired experience and expertise of knowing the little tricks to make the job easier.

This is frequently represented in today’s social media posts in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us read the “Cliff Notes” summary version of a topic and then like to think we are experts. We can become instant experts and very quickly share that “expertise” with large numbers of friends. And, heaven forbid, someone wants to disagree with my “expert” opinion. We’ve all seen it. A couple of quick responses, then everyone leaves the post, not wanting to get dragged into the fray. It is one thing to have an open, meaningful discussion, but an entirely different one to take stances based on incorrect or slanted information. I see far too many social media “discussions” that rapidly polarize and attract those who agree and deter those who don’t. We are all guilty of this.

We need to closely watch how this re-opening plays out and be careful to follow the recommendations. We don’t want to see a worsening spread that prompts a return to near-total shutdown. But we may well get that if we’re not careful. Keep in mind that numbers of infections and deaths that are less than predicted are a wonderful testimony to the fact that what we have done recently has worked. Let’s continue to listen and understand how we are protecting our society’s most vulnerable.