“I Do Not Know”

Let us imagine for a moment that we find ourselves in an unfamiliar house. The lights are off. We are given only the glow of our cell phone screens to help navigate the labyrinth. We are forced to make decisions with very limited information. We must move forward without knowing what lies mere inches from us.

While this may seem like a simple thought experiment, it serves as a fitting analogy for how I describe most daily conversations. We speak with such absolutism about our thoughts while navigating with the equivalent of cell phone screens—both literally and figuratively.

Take the Chinese spy balloon incident, for example. During that period, I encountered many self-proclaimed global security experts—people who claimed to hold all the answers, yet lacked any real experience or knowledge in the field. I’ve met a lot of “experts” in my life. The world of social media is overflowing with them. Absolutism creeps into the public consciousness through platforms like social media and the yellow journalism of the modern news industry. What gets lost is nuance—and the ability to utter a once-common phrase: “I do not know.”

It is usually easy to spot a true expert in any field. Most can speak in depth about a given topic but are also wise enough to identify unknowns and gaps in knowledge. (Beware of anyone claiming to know it all and offer absolute answers.) As members of the general public, we must understand that experts are also human. Their opinions may differ based on their varied experiences.

We, too, should strive to navigate the metaphorical house with a flashlight rather than a phone screen. We should aim to shine our light into the unknown, seeking knowledge and clarity. And we should make space in our vocabulary for “I do not know.”

The heated tabletop outrage over hot-button issues is often nothing more than expelled air. Most of us are in no real position to change the outcome of current events—especially considering our low voting turnout rates and lack of civic engagement. I’m not suggesting that current events don’t deserve discussion. But perhaps we should be more willing to acknowledge our limitations. Maybe we should pause to ask ourselves whether the heated debates are truly worth our time and energy.

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This first appeared in The Havok Journal on May 30, 2023.

Jake Smith is a law enforcement officer and former Army Ranger with four deployments to Afghanistan.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.