How many times have you walked in to
a conversation and had no idea what the participants were talking about? It often starts innocently enough,
but ends up making you feel like a moron. You hear friends talking about buying
a new laptop, and since you recently bought one too, you decide to mention a
few features of your new prized possession. The friend smiles and says “If I was spending that kind of money I would
have bought an XQ37 space modulator. It has triple ported RSS feed and a user
friendly interface that renders the 35 and 36 models useless. I disabled the
RAM slots and added a…” Really; that is so cool but I think my ride is
leaving me.
I’m not knocking anybody for what
they know. I have my
splinter skills and I love technical talk about them as much as the next guy, I
just hate it when I wade into water that is deeper than I originally thought. The older I get the better I am at not letting
this get under my skin, and really it makes me want to know a little more about
the things that are “above my pay grade”.
So…I would have to say that this is good for me! But what about getting stumped
by things that you think you know or things that you should know!
I thought of this last week after I
had taken (and failed) an online test about American government. Some of the questions were about
government history, but many were basic questions about The Constitution and
its Amendments; basic rights and freedoms that we live (and enjoy) every day. I’m
from a rural area so I know what the 2nd Amendment is, and I’ve
watched enough cop shows to understand “taking
the 5th”, but beyond that what do I really know about the Constitution
and inner workings of my government! The answer is not as much as I thought! (Don’t
tell my wife I said this) Not as much as I thought, yet I brag on my rights and
compare them to other countries regularly. Off the top of your head, what is
the very first amendment? Taking the 5th?
Think about the last time you were
buying a car. I’m
sure you looked online and read up on all the details you could find about the
choices available. You sought the advice of friends and family and tried to
make sure you made the most informed decision possible…right? You did this so a
salesman just looking to make a sale couldn’t take advantage of you. You wanted
to be sure you knew your options and your rights; you wanted to appear as
though you knew what you were talking about! Well, maybe we should all apply
this car buying example to the country we know and love! Knowledge is power.
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