Category: opinion

Do You Have A Frame of Reference Here?

“Instead of trusting in the experts and letting them inform the public, those with little to no experience are voicing their opinion on subject(s) that they don’t have any expertise or understanding of. Thus, this brings me to the critical question that rarely gets asked today: Do you have a frame of reference here?”

We live in a time where having an opinion on every single topic is often treated as more important than having an informed one or not having one when you haven’t fully researched the topic at hand. The influence of social media, 24-hour news cycles, and the pressure to ‘weigh in’ constantly have created a culture where silence is mistaken for ignorance and confidence is mistaken for competence in many different areas. Instead of trusting in the experts and letting them inform the public, those with little to no experience are voicing their opinion on subject(s) that they don’t have any expertise or understanding of. Thus, this brings me to the critical question that rarely gets asked today: Do you have a frame of reference here?

A ‘frame of reference’ is built through lived experience, actual study, or meaningful exposure to a subject, regardless of which one it is. Without it, opinions are often shallow, reactive, or based on incomplete information from often unreliable sources. Yet today, many people, especially political leaders, regularly comment on complex issues such as geopolitics, economics, public health, without the necessary context to understand them or any one of these complex topics. This kind of willful arrogance doesn’t just dilute meaningful discourse on the subject being discussed; it can actively mislead others who assume that their confidence equals real credibility.

What’s personally refreshing for me is when a public figure, especially a political leader, admits the limits of their knowledge. When a mayor of a major city recently acknowledged that they were not informed enough to comment on a geopolitical issue involving another country, it stood out to me positively not as a weakness, but as showing intellectual honesty. In a culture that rewards hot takes and instant reactions, restraint is increasingly rare but it’s also responsible and what we should expect more from our leaders.

Real wisdom comes from not needing to be a ‘master of all’ but rather to hone your knowledge base and your life experience on subjects you are confident enough to weigh in on and learn more about others where you have little or no experience with. Focusing on mastering one subject or a few subjects is difficult enough over a period of years or a lifetime, what’s impossible is trying to comment on every little subject you hear about or is making the news.

There’s value in recognizing when something is outside your lane and admitting that you don’t know enough about something to give an opinion on. Deferring to experts, asking questions instead of making declarations, or simply choosing not to comment are all signs of maturity, not ignorance. In fact, the ability to say “I don’t know enough about this” might be one of the most credible statements a person can make, especially those people in positions of power and influence.

Before speaking out loud, it’s worth pausing to ask: Do I understand this? Or am I just participating to hear myself talk? That distinction matters more than ever because not every conversation needs your opinion, and not every opinion needs to be voiced. In practice, this means getting comfortable with a little restraint especially with different audiences. You’re your coworkers, it might look like asking clarifying questions instead of jumping into debate, or saying, “I haven’t looked into that enough to have a strong view.” That doesn’t make you disengaged; it makes you credible. With your friends and family, where emotions tend to run higher, it helps to focus on understanding their viewpoint rather than winning the argument. You don’t need to ‘correct’ every take at the dinner table. Sometimes the better move is letting a moment pass or redirecting the conversation to something more constructive or worthwhile.

If a topic genuinely interests you and you really want to learn more about it to have an informed opinion, there’s nothing wrong with engaging with it further but do it the right way. Take the time to seek out legitimate sources, compare perspectives, and pressure-test what you’re reading to see if it’s credible information. That kind of effort means going beyond sensational headlines, avoiding echo chambers, and giving more weight to subject-matter experts than to loud personalities who bloviate without any substance. Real understanding of any subject takes serious effort, which you may not be able to devote time to. Here’s the part that most people skip: be willing to revise your opinion as you learn more about the topic. Changing your mind isn’t a loss but rather it’s evidence that you’re thinking deeply about it in a constructive way. When you finally do speak about it, do it from a place of informed perspective, not impulse. That kind of discipline doesn’t just make your voice more credible; it makes it worth listening to.

When things get heated with voicing your opinion, especially with strangers, the goal should shift from being right to keeping things from spiraling out of control. You’re not going to out-argue someone who isn’t interested in nuance or subtlety. What you can do instead is lower the temperature of the conversation: acknowledge their perspective without endorsing it outright (“I can see why you’d feel that way”), avoid absolute statements, and step back when the conversation turns into a one-way performance rather than a two-day dialogue. Walking away from that person or people, changing the subject, or simply not engaging further in the discussion isn’t weakness, it’s control of your environment. It’s true that not every verbal battle deserves either your energy or your effort.

At the end of the day, discernment is a key skill for any adult to exercise, especially in our current era. Knowing when to speak, when to listen, and when to opt out entirely of making your opinion heard will earn you more respect than having a take on every single subject. In a world full of noise and bluster, the people who stand out are the ones who choose their words carefully and know when silence says enough.

Why Constant Ratings and Reviews Are Hurting Your Business

“As any business owner such as myself will tell you, getting customer feedback is extremely important to see how your business or company is doing.”

As any business owner such as myself will tell you, getting customer feedback is extremely important to see how your business or company is doing. Customers won’t sugarcoat it and won’t hide their feelings, especially when they’ve spent money on something they see as either useful or valuable. Having ratings and reviews is a good way to get feedback on how your business can improve. From a customer’s perspective, it is nice to make one’s opinion known, to have an impact on the product or service you use and have their input lead to actual changes to keep them around longer as a customer.

However, where this reviewing and rating system can run into trouble, is when you are constantly reviewing every single service and product, it’s become compulsory instead of optional, and it’s spread to industries where direct responses can be a bit too on the nose when they serve the public and not private interests. From restaurants to ride-sharing applications to doctor’s offices, every transaction in society now comes with a mandatory rating request, leaving more customers fatigued and desensitized.

Being asked to constantly review every single business, public or private, doesn’t always lead to better or more in-depth feedback, and there are other ways companies can strike the right balance going forward. One of the ways to do so is to go beyond the basic ‘stars’ or out of 10 scale that is being used by most providers today. Its surface-level, lacks nuance, and rarely captures how the customer truly feels. In this case, less is more. Anonymous, optional surveys completed at the customer’s discretion generate more meaningful feedback than shallow ratings from everyone at once.

For example, if you are a small business or company, and you are getting 100 five-star ratings, but they are from bots or fake accounts with no actual written reviews, can you claim to be a reputable business? Instead, especially with more of the Internet being filled with AI, bots, and fake accounts, real verification methods with anonymized surveys, which can be filled out over time, will make for a happier and less stressed customer base.

If you are getting scores or ratings constantly but with no real feedback, how can you possibly gain real insights from these ratings? Also, how can customers trust these cursory ratings when they could be fake or not with anything real backing up their star rating? Personally, I would rather get 10 real reviews from customers who opt to voluntarily leave a review for my business that’s in-depth and insightful about the product or service rather than 100 fake ones with no substance or trustworthiness. Beyond the risk of fake reviews, there’s also the problem of overwhelming customers with constant rating requests.

Forcing customers to rate every interaction is stressful, disingenuous, and harmful. Business owners should always make any kind of rating or review optional and only prompt the customer to leave the review every now and then and not after every interaction. There should not be a penalty for not leaving reviews as well and they should remain optional yet encouraged. Companies or firms can also incentivize reviews or ratings with a referral offering, a discount, or perhaps a free trial to encourage greater participation. If they really dislike or like your product or service, they often will want you to be the first to know but they should have the autonomy to do so on their own initiative. In addition to incentivizing voluntary feedback, companies must consider the ethical implications of rating individuals directly.

Moreover, I do not think it’s wise for some companies to review their customers even with the gig economy unless they consent to it as certain ridesharing companies have done up to this point. It’s good to have responsible customers using your platform or service but having anonymous reviews of your customers without their knowledge or feedback about their own ratings is morally gray at best and potentially illegal too. I also think it should be discouraged to rank teachers, doctors, lawyers, and other professionals directly even if it is a private practice or company. Evaluating the institution rather than individual professionals is more responsible; rating certified individuals in sensitive fields is ethically questionable.

In the end, more reviews and ratings do not automatically mean better feedback for a company. Overloading your customers with constant rating requests leads to superficial or lack of candid responses, stress, and even distrust, while fake or bot-generated reviews undermine the credibility of a business. The solution is simple but often overlooked: make feedback selective, anonymized, and meaningful.

Encourage customers to share their insights thoughtfully rather than compulsively and consider thoughtful incentives to reward genuine engagement. Beyond numbers and stars, businesses should focus on creating systems that respect their customers’ time, autonomy, and privacy. By doing so, companies not only gain actionable insights but also cultivate trust, loyalty, and a happier customer base, proving that sometimes, less truly is more.

Be Wary of Bread and Circuses

“There’s nothing wrong with distractions and wanting to enjoy an event, a spectacle, or indulge a bit but in the times that we’re living in, it’s important to realize that focusing only on ‘bread and circuses’ is something we can no longer afford to do.”

Who doesn’t enjoy sports or entertainment or both? People since the dawn of time have enjoyed being entertained or have been spectators or participants in games, sports, or other spectacles. At best, it is a thrilling adrenaline rush to be part of it to the roar of hundreds or thousands of people. At worse, it is a pleasant distraction from the humdrum of our daily life and our routines. There’s nothing wrong with distractions and wanting to enjoy an event, a spectacle, or indulge a bit but in the times that we’re living in, it’s important to realize that focusing only on ‘bread and circuses’ is something we can no longer afford to do.

The concept and phrasing of “bread and circuses or in Latin known as, “panem et circenses”, comes from the Roman Empire and belongs to the Roman poet Juvenal. Juvenal criticized how the Roman leadership would use free food such as bread and grant entertainment such as the gladiator events and other spectacles of the coliseum to distract the citizenry from societal and economic decay. While the Roman empire declined and fell as all empires do, today, in our modern world, we have major sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and the NFL Super Bowl. Reality Television shows remain quite popular, and the media spends hours on celebrity scandals and gossip rather than focus on systemic issues affecting each of us daily.

Why is this an issue today as it was almost 200 years ago? I would argue that we are living through an era of upheaval including political instability, economic inequality, the effects of climate change, and the rise of authoritarianism. Distraction such as ‘bread and circuses’ help to keep people distracted from these ongoing issues and is a powerful tool to be utilized by those holding power. While sports and entertainment can be healthy outlets, it does not go well for a society when it is all-consuming, and people are overly reliant on it each day for fulfillment or pleasure. An active citizenry must remain focused on issues that affect them and their families as if they are paying attention and are engaged, positive change is more likely to occur as a result.

Political leaders can use major sporting events to help push their agendas forward as the times surrounding such events are the easiest to enact policies that are controversial but in which public attention is directed elsewhere. Politicians and leaders can also engage in controversies surrounding sporting events and how it related to ‘culture wars’ and ‘celebrity feuds’ to divert from ongoing political scandals or economic problems. Major sporting events are also used to stir national pride in a country and can be used to distract from real issues that the country is facing as well.

Sports and entertainment are big money for corporations and for wealthy individuals. Sports can reflect ongoing economic inequalities especially when multimillion-dollar commercials are paid for by a company rather than in investing in their own workforce’s compensation. Money spent in the billions of dollars each year on sports betting, gambling, or on tickets could have been funneled towards programs focusing on social well-being in health care, education, or infrastructure.

Celebrities and athletes should be compensated well for the work they do but there is an issue when ordinary workers who help make events, games, and other spectacles run smoothly are not paid a living wage. Thousands of workers are making decent pay, but it pales in comparison to what the ‘stars’ are making especially when they are the one preparing their food, keeping them safe with security measures, and helping stock the shelves and sell the merchandise.

There is also the ongoing debate in society about taxpayer money funding massive students and events that are not benefiting the surrounding community or the city itself. A lot of that money gets funneled to corporations in the ‘naming rights’ and to the ‘billionaires’ who see their net worth grow up as the sports franchise becomes more valuable over the years. A society where income inequality is high and is rising will be reflected in sports and entertainment as well. While there are some economic benefits to be made by the average person in these industries, a large sum of the gains to go to the wealthiest owners, players, and stars while the wealth does not ‘trickle down’ much, if at all.

While some of these issues do get coverage in the media although increasingly sparingly, I would argue that general news media, especially in recent years, has become sensationalistic and has focused on ‘click bait’ content rather than on serious investigative journalism. News outlets have prioritized celebrity feuds, sports gossip, and other trivial controversies that pale in comparison in terms of importance compared to real issues going on with the wider society. Viral content gets more clicks and eyeballs, especially on social media, and that’s where the focus has turned especially in recent years. Too much information at one time also presents most people from being able to decipher of what’s real vs. what’s fake and what to pay attention to because ‘information overload’ makes it hard to pinpoint what is likely to affect them the most and is worth paying attention to.

Similarly to the issues I’ve mentioned that ‘bread and circuses’ distract from each day, one issue that is the most immediate and wide scale in terms of ongoing effects is the accelerating climate crisis. Major sports and entertainment events all have an environmental cost and leave a sizable carbon footprint. When you tally up, the travel emissions, energy consumption because of the game or event, and the waste involved from having thousands of people in attendance, communities who support the events or games must deal with the aftermath, including both the financial and environmental costs.

While these massive events like the Super Bowl, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympics due to pledge to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly, many companies do not end up footing the bill for the carbon emitted or the energy used. They can do so because the companies help sponsor the events and contribute enough money to them, so they aren’t as liable to help with the environmental aftereffects. Looking at two recent examples with the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qarar, these two events led to increased carbon emissions (FIFA) and environmental aftereffects. (Olympics)

While I am supportive of sports and entertainment and have been a fan of both, I still recognize the need to tone it back these days because excessive consumption of either will not help our society and our world be better. Sports and reality TV may seem as important as real issues, but they are not and never will be. People must stay engaged in what’s going on in their community, their country, and their world. As consumers of news, we also have the individual and collective power to choose which news outlets we give our time and our money to as well. If frivolities and ‘bread and circuses’ is all a news organization is offering, then it’s not a real news organization to begin with.

 Advocating for solutions to real issues, being a reliable voter, and volunteering in your community consistently can help keep the ‘bread and circuses’ to a more tolerable level. We all want to experience gratification and rewards in our lives and sports, or entertainment do both in providing that kind of dopamine hit but it’s a cheap one, and it’s not something we do ourselves. Political activism, working for social change, and developing our problem-solving abilities is real gratification in whatever issue you want to work on in our world. It’s not as instant and far from being easy but improving anything in society will take effort, discomfort, patience, and a lot of perseverance. Make sure you advocate for what you care about because celebrities and sports figures may not do the same, if at all.

You should stay focused on what’s important in the news, be civically engaged and encourage others in your life to do so. Remember to balance your consumption of entertainment and sports along with awareness of the issues and problems affecting you, your families, and your communities. Watching the Super Bowl is fine and I just did so recently as I have most years of my life, but if we continue to ignore political scandals, economic problems, and societal injustices, there won’t be much to celebrate in our society beyond that one day of the calendar year, where two teams of millionaires play a game that you can’t even be part of or even afford to go to.