tl;dr

There is a lot of bad news these days. Most people in power don’t want to hear about it. That is, unless it helps them. If they can’t kill it, they want to spin it. What is missing these days? Solutions, answers, and explanations are all missing. It is hard to locate when we lost this, but we have. The issue is controversy and point of view. Solutions, answers, and especially explanations are all loaded with both. They are complicated and the purview of experts. Society-wide, experts have been rejected. Worse yet, experts have standards. Today, the rich or powerful want to control things, and experts aren’t controllable. The real issue is that solving problems will work against powerful interests. Their power is vested in keeping those problems unsolved.

“Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why. Then do it.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

There’s A Lot of Bad News

“Nothing travels faster than the speed of light, with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.” ― Douglas Adams

Things are not going well. The nation is in a multitude of crises. These go all the way from disappearing democratic norms to authoritarian rule. The growth in homelessness is a painful warning sign of societal stress. Inequality is growing. We aren’t sure if AI is a job destroyer or a massive investment bubble primed for a crash. The globe has several conflicts where masses of innocents are being slaughtered. To make matters worse, the USA seems to be on the side of those killing most of the innocents. The time is not good.

Meanwhile, if you listen to the US President, all is great. At least due to his actions, everything is awesome and great. Peace is around the corner. The economy is fantastic, and we will just sweep the homeless away. They’re not real people we care about. Democracy is optional and something to be controlled. His rule is notable by the appointment of sycophants and boot lickers to every post. Any dissent or admission of fault is punished. Only “yes-men” and Trump-cheerleaders are allowed. Moreover, if you cross the President, the retribution and punishment will be extreme, and use the full extent of executive power.

For a while, I thought this was a horrible example for all of us. Terrible leadership that will begin to seep down to society. The last six months have completely changed my view. The bad leadership has already become lodged in the bowels of society. I see it where I work and the places I am close to. The behavior is not as egregious as Trump’s, but echoes it. Bad news is never accepted, and if it can be hidden or spun changed. The problems underlying the bad news are often ignored. Why put effort into solving a problem that can just be messaged away? The mantra seems to be that reporting bad news is simply bad for whoever reports it. Plus, fixing problems is often difficult or a pain in the ass. This is doubly true if the boss’s dumb decisions caused the problem.

The result is a logjam of problems everywhere. The dam is going to break, and it’s going to be awful. Most leaders know they will be out of the way then, and some other poor SOB will be holding the bag.

“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” ― Niels Bohr

Experts are Threats; Reject Them

“Throughout history, people with new ideas—who think differently and try to change things—have always been called troublemakers.” ― Richelle Mead

Of course, this post was inspired by something. Speaking broadly, it is the rejection of expertise by my institution. Worse yet, it was recognizing that expertise is being rejected by society. We see it at the highest level of government. Our top government jobs are currently filled by totally incompetent people (RFK, Hegsheth,…). Their only qualification is their subservience and loyalty to the President. Any expert who disagrees with them is simply a nuisance, or worse yet, an enemy. The advice will be rejected, ignored, or attacked if it doesn’t meet the demands of the incompetent leader. The problem is that this rot is present where I work, too. It’s probably elsewhere, as my engagements with Los Alamos have indicated.

I have come to realize that experts are not valued by my workplace. The depth of the problem has been sinking in. It has been a pretty awful realization. My current employer puts a very dim value on expertise. I have substantial expertise in a bunch of specific areas of interest to the Lab’s mission. There is no effort for me to transfer any of this knowledge as I step toward retirement. After retirement, the Lab basically tells you to get lost. At Los Alamos, retirees seem to have value, but I wonder if that will persist. At Sandia, they are definitely surplus to requirements. You feel this attitude growing as a dark cloud as you get older. This attitude has gotten more acute of late. It has found currency in a series of events.

Recently, there was a report of a study that found some problems with codes. I was a subject matter expert who reviewed the report. It was good work and the results were high quality. They were correct and even expected. The only missing element was explanations of the results and corrective measures. The manager responsible for the codes didn’t like this and basically censored the report. They made a bunch of critiques of the report. These critiques were naive and signaled a lack of expertise. Nonetheless, the censorship continued despite no technical veracity of the issues. The political desires were overruling the expert. Again, this is consistent with the basic values of Sandia.

Given Sandia’s responsibilities as an institution, you should all be alarmed. This is how they act. It is the culture. It is the management. It is the staff. At a recent project meeting, someone asked a question about computer codes at other labs. It is something I know a lot about this topic, so I spoke up,

“I’m an expert at that.”

The meeting moderator quipped, “Well, don’t you think a lot of yourself,” in a sneerin,g dismissive tone.

I thought to myself, “Go fuck yourself.”

Fortunately, the person asking the question contacted me outside the meeting. I could answer the question without this horrible disrespect. At least he wasn’t an asshole and just interested in answers.

Still, I was getting a firm read on the culture and attitude. Experts are something we don’t need around here. Granted, the meeting was for a code that is a living indictment of our nation’s gap in science and technology. It is used broadly in National Security work, and it is not a good thing. They could use an expert or three. The problem is that an expert would tell them that the code sucks. They would have to do something about it instead of being legends in their own minds.

“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.” ― Robert A. Heinlein,

Bad News is Not Welcome; It will be Punished

One of the big issues with bad news is how it is given. It is often just naked bad news without context or explanation. This problem will likely get worse as the news gets worse. A “Holy Shit” bad news is harder to deliver with nuance. The reaction rapidly tends toward “Oh fuck!” Worse yet, those who deliver the bad news are simply punished. They serve as an example to others: “Keep that bad news to yourself.”

The most important fact to recognize is that our leaders don’t want bad news. The leadership class is increasingly filled with pathetic self self-serving people. They are not responsible for the stated purposes of their jobs. They are not responsible for the people working for them. They are not responsible for the future. Their responsibility starts and stops with themselves. They manage up and only care about their own well-being. They are not trustworthy. For years, we have worried that we cannot trust our leaders. Today, we truly can’t; our leaders are craven liars who exist within a system that punishes responsible action.

“For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert.” ― Jasper Fforde

What I am seeing is a system that corrodes people. Well-intentioned people are hired into the system. They either become the problem or the system ruins them. Good people either become shadows of themselves or are ejected from leadership. I have seen it over and over where good people either become bad or leave leadership. When a bad person goes into leadership, they thrive and get worse. All the feedback is corrosive. People in leadership positions learn to be worse versions of themselves, or can’t lead. At this point in my career, I know many of the leaders in my World. Invariably, the good people are made worse. The bad people are monsters. The monsters become demonic.

Just think about the monster in the White House. A horrible person who is becoming worse with all bounds removed from any bad behavior. Notably, shooting the messenger is now the law of the land. What a horrible example!

Maybe we simply can’t give bad news anymore. This is simply not sustainable. With no bad news, no problems are ever solved. We are kicking every single problem down the road. Let tomorrow’s leaders solve it. We can see it in the massive budget deficits and debt. No current leader has any investment in the future of the Nation. The same attitude is present all the way to the base of society. It is the mentality of business; quarterly earnings are the focus. Everything is about being expedient today. The same can be said for the cuts to science and research, the future be damned. Someone else will have to deal with all this shit.

“The truth is, we know so little about life, we don’t really know what the good news is and what the bad news is.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

How To Give It Better

“It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into.” ― Jonathan Swift

It should be self-evident that we shouldn’t allow our leaders to bullshit us. Yet we do allow it. Some even prefer to live in a self-delusional state, denying obvious problems. A question that should persist is “How to deliver bad news better? How to give the news so that it is received?” If received, can it be acted upon? Can we get to solving the issues and create a better future through proactive action?

Right now, the answer is that you can’t. We need new leaders who aren’t so pathetic. Leaders who act with responsibility for others over themselves. Still, even with the absolute dreck we have for leaders, we can do better. The key is to deliver more than just bad news. We need to deliver analysis and understanding along with potential solutions. The bad news should not look like an indictment of the leadership. Granted, if the leaders are awful enough (e.g., Trump), nothing will be accepted. We can’t work miracles. Still, we can do better.

The key is to deliver more than “I found this thing that sucks.” You also need to explain why this thing sucks, and how to make it stop sucking. A consistent problem is the default choice of inaction. You say that the “do nothing” solution is a problem. Solutions cost time and money. Leaders have different plans for the money (like their own pockets). Still, the basic understanding of the problems is important, along with a way out. You can’t just present a problem. The bad news alone never works. The rest needs to be included. It is harder and more effort, but in the long run, the only way out.

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” ― Albert Einstein

They Still Don’t Want It

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair

For more evidence of the rejection of experts, just look to the news. Bad job reports are met by the termination of the messenger. Correct and appropriate history is rejected. The Smithsonian’s correct historical content is attacked as being unpatriotic. America is great and perfect. Past crimes are to be forgotten. Like Trump, America can do no wrong. That is the mantra. Therefore, the horrors visited upon Black people in slavery are to be forgotten. The systematic ethnic cleansing of the Native Americans is overlooked. The only acceptable message is American exceptionalism.

I could see this as an anomaly if it wasn’t repeated locally at work. The same mantra, albeit dialed back, is true at work. At meetings, only good news is spoken of. When communicating with our superiors, good news is shared; bad news is buried. When problems are found and reported, the messenger is shot. We are great and successful all the time. We are world-class by definition.

For now, the bad news and well-crafted feedback are not wanted. It won’t be accepted, and those delivering it will be punished. At some time in the future, the “shit will hit the fan.” The disasters will come. The question is, how bad does it have to get before things change? I don’t know. The longer this horrible leadership persists, the worse the problems will be. People will eventually get fed up and demand different leadership. They will accept sacrifice and difficulty for a better future. It will happen. The sooner it happens, the better the outcomes and the fewer the catastrophes. For now, bewar,e calamity is coming.

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ― George Orwell