Today we are discussing the seeming erosion of trust in expertise in our society, which can have dire and cascading consequences on communal knowledge and wisdom. I will try to briefly address how we got here, canvass some relevant examples, and speak to the dangers of when expertise itself becomes corrupted. Select Paraphrased Quote: "If you don't have the people ready for when things hit the fan, it's already too late. This is why you put [experts] in positions of power - trusted individuals - proactively rather than reactively."

Today we are talking about a seeming growing trend of distrust-turned-paranoia and anger-turned-rage in both the United States and across the globe. Distrust and anger and important experiences, but when and why do they become problematic (shifts into paranoia and rage)? And how do we tell the difference between when they are legitimate/just or not? This includes a conversation about the dangers of leaders who stoke the flames.

Absolutism provides us safety and relativism provides us freedom, but all things in excess can become problematic. How can we as a society understand and find a balance between these important forces? "The more conscious we are of the dilemma, the better we can wield and move through it efficiently." "The challenge is how do we discern between these vacillations that are productive versus more unproductive."