We are in an era where people say that “what I believe” is true. It is not based on science, facts proven throughout history, academic study and certainly not mainstream media like the
New York Times and the
Washington Post.
The word of the day on my morning list of program segments I get on my Amazon Echo while shaving was this word: “jejune.” I had never heard of it before, and most of the “words of the day” are new to me.
When they briefly explained what it meant, I had an “aha” moment about how it applies to today’s world and how people are putting their personal beliefs before everything else.
The definition of jejune includes, “simplistic; lacking
knowledge or experience;
uninformed.”
If you are going to have an opinion on vaccinations, climate change, wildfires, flooding or snow storms, it should be based on something more than “I believe... .”
Eric Holdeman is a nationally known emergency manager. He has worked in emergency management at the federal, state and local government levels. Today he serves as the Director, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR), which is part of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER). The focus for his work there is engaging the public and private sectors to work collaboratively on issues of common interest, regionally and cross jurisdictionally.