I wrote this in 2006 to submit to NPR's this I Believe project. It didn't get read on air but it is in their archives somewhere.

This I Believe

I believe in doubt. At least, I think I do.

Quantum physics, as I imperfectly understand it, says that uncertainty is built into nature. And what is truth may depend on the observer. So maybe some doubt is a good thing. But not everyone seems to feel this way.

We live in a time when people seem very sure of themselves. They believe their opinions to be truth. Yet, in their discourse, they omit facts, and endlessly repeat untruths or half-truths, even those popularly disproved, to convince us they have the right answer.

Radio talk show hosts are big into claiming to speak the truth. Can we really expect someone so committed to a particularly ideology to be objective enough to see the unvarnished truth much less speak about it? So what comes out is varnished – shiny on the outside but wooden on the inside.

I’m not sure that it’s wise to believe someone who makes millions of dollars to tell you what you want to hear.

In Zen, there is something called the Doubt Sensation. I interpret that to mean that questioning the very core of reality is necessary to be on the path to understanding reality. So that you can see it with a fresh mind. Uncluttered by belief. Uncertainty is active and allows for change. Certainty is static and avoids change.

I doubt that most people who champion their own ideology have actually tried to understand different viewpoints, that they have actually looked with intellectual and emotional honesty at another point-of-view and tried to find some truth there as well. This may be because of a deep-seated fear that this might lead to having some doubt. And doubt is not usually comfortable. Certainty takes little intellectual energy. Thinking what you say and do is based in truth makes action easier to take.

So I understand people who avoid doubt. But I think doubt is a good thing. Certainty is what allows young men to strap on bombs. Doubt is what makes people strap on seat belts.

There is a difference between doubt and indecision. Our leaders must certainly act decisively. But they shouldn’t assume that what they propose is the right answer and that others are wrong. And they certainly shouldn’t stick with this action when it is plainly not working. Not to feel better about themselves and certainly not for politics. I’m not advocating inactivity. I’m advocating action that is constantly looked at, and is flexible and responsive to what’s actually happening, rather than what fits an ideology.

Voltaire demonstrated he was also a doubter when he said, “Doubt is uncomfortable. Certainty is ridiculous.”

Or maybe the Stooges said it best. “Only a fool is positive.” Are you sure?” “I’m positive.”

So maybe it’s a good thing for us to question the truth behind the rhetoric, always imperfectly. Because a little doubt is a good thing.

Am I sure about this? I’m positive.