This Is How The Gift of Uncertainty Helps Us
Leading up to the pandemic last year, things were generally okay in this country - for most people. The economy was hot, unemployment was low, and the stock market was on fire. People were generally confident about the future. Then the pandemic hit and everything changed in an instant.
But, maybe that’s the gift of the pandemic. The gift of uncertainty.
Let me explain
This country was built on courage. But things weren’t always that confident, that certain. See, it was the uncertainty that gave us the courage to trounce the Brits in the funny hats. But ever since we sent them packing we got swagger as a country. It was like we collectively beat up the class bully on the playground in third grade. We started to feel like Alabama football fans. Overconfident, albeit justified.
As a result of this overconfidence, we’ve come to demand certainty in all things. Like Tom Brady demands winning the SuperBowl. Not only is demanding certainty unreasonable, it’s downright dangerous. That’s hardly the way life works.
There are times when demanding certainty is entirely reasonable.
When your oncologist is testing the margins of a tumor she just removed.
When your accountant says your tax return is accurate.
When your pilot says your flight has been cleared for landing.
These are appropriate times to demand certainty. Or, at least to demand that as many variables have been removed as humanly possible.
“In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
~ Ben Franklin
If the last eighteen months have taught us anything, it’s that life is uncertain. Everything is fluid. Everything. Our health. Our livelihood. Our family. Our politics. Our peace of mind. Our way of life. Our very way of life. Fluid.
It has been a gift, of sorts. An opportunity to be courageous in the midst of tremendous uncertainty. Like a scene out of a classic, underdog movie like Rocky or Rudy. Americans love these kinds of stories.
But we aren’t invincible. And we aren’t in control of anything. In 1920, just a short 100 years ago, the life expectancy of the average human was 53.22 years. Back then you could expect just about any minor illness or injury to take you out. If you got a simple infection in your foot, they’d whack it off and send you home where you’d probably die from gangrene. Hell, penicillin wasn’t even widely available until after WWII.
These two lovebirds probably only lived a few more years before they croaked.
The greatest generation was born in this era. And, they knew better than to be self-certain. They knew that life was fleeting. That they were extremely vulnerable, if not downright defenseless. People died more often. And, they died of things that today send us to the 24-hour Urgent Care Center after we finish eating dinner.
Yet the greatest generation demonstrated tremendous courage in the most dire of circumstances. Their courage made them certain about the right things.
Certain that we should respond in-kind after Pearl Harbor. Certain that, in 1941, we should enter the European Theater. A Gallup poll taken days after the US formally declared war found that 97% of Americans were in support of it. Imagine that happening today.
Part of what gave the greatest generation that extraordinary confidence to walk boldly through the valley of the shadow of death, was faith. Their faith in something greater than themselves.
But today, things are different. According to Gallup, our membership in houses of worship continued to decline last year, dropping below 50% for the first time in Gallup's eight-decade trend. In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.
I find these kinds of statistics surprising. Remember the incredible lack of confidence we all felt, just a short 18 months ago? When toilet-paper and Chardonnay were in short supply. When we were quietly praying for relief from the deadly virus?
Yet after this life-altering experience, we’ve never been more self-certain. We’ve never been more arrogant about our understanding things for which we know so little.
So do you think it’s fair to suggest that our “enlightened“ lack of faith is proof that we’ve lost our courage to be uncertain? I do.
See, having a faith life takes courage. Courage to admit we aren’t in control. Courage to believe that there is something bigger than ourselves. Courage to believe that we do not have all the answers in life. Courage to embrace uncertainty.
But, in our modern, enlightened, self-certain state of mind, we don’t wanna run the risk that maybe Moses didn’t really deliver the Egyptians from slavery. Or Jesus didn’t really walk on water. As if the possibility of being wrong outweighs the reward of being right.
It seems that many are “often mistaken, but seldom in doubt” about things these days. Just revisit some of the most “certain” predictions of 2020 from the so-called “experts”.
In February 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced on live television that the risk of Coronavirus was “minuscule”.
In April 2020, The New York Times ran an Op-Ed piece suggesting that the vaccine was a decade or more away.
On March 23, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bottomed out at 18,591.93. Experts on CNBC and in the Wall Street Journal claimed that our financial markets would fail by the end of the year. That didn’t happen. Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sits at roughly 35,369,000. It rose 1,300 points in the time it took to write this article.
Look I know that faith is completely irrational. I know that our common sense filter can go into hyperdrive when we begin to ponder the great questions of the universe. That we struggle with the idea that there really is a “wheel in the sky.” I get it.
But there are lots of things I don’t understand, yet I submit to them with blind faith.
I don’t understand how my microwave works. But I have faith it will turn raw bacon into something truly divine.
I don’t understand how the internet works. But, I let it control nearly every aspect of my life.
And, I don’t understand how my toilet works. But……okay, you get the point.
Given the vastness of the world, it’s safe to assume that we only have a tiny fraction of knowledge on any subject. And that should allow us to stay thirsty. Thirsty for new ways of thinking about complex subjects. Thirsty for uncertainty. Because the only way to grow is to be constantly learning and changing our opinions.
So as we bring this pandemic to a close, let’s all try to learn from this experience. Let's be courageous enough to live out the rest of our lives with wonder and awe. Together, let us embrace the gift of the pandemic: the gift of uncertainty.
So what about you? Has your faith grown or died during the pandemic? I want to know. Leave me a comment below. I promise you’ll hear from me.
Before you go, could you do me a huge favor and share this story with a few friends? I’m trying to move up in the Google rankings and need your help. Or just share it on Facebook. Or share it on a bathroom wall. Just share it anywhere you can. It helps a lot. I’d be incredibly grateful.
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