"Well, could you do better?"
I've been stuck inside my current place of residence for four days in a row now! I am currently living in the state of Washington in a lovely town called Bellevue, which is now completely covered in snow. Since I've been stuck inside I have tried to keep busy by looking for new jobs and places to live (someplace warm!), writing, watching Netflix and youtube, getting creative with the food in the kitchen, and setting up a deviantart account for my artwork (https://www.deviantart.com/justincecil, go check it out!). While I have been keeping busy, I really want to be able to get out of the house!
Anyway, in addition to going stir crazy, I am able to get a lot of thinking done while I am stuck inside with the snow. And I remembered several years ago, having a conversation about "Saturday Night Live" with a friend of mine. I remember talking about the sketches that we liked, and he said that he didn't like the political sketches they were doing (this was when Obama was still President). I asked him why, and it wasn't really because of his beliefs as far as politics (or that he simply didn't find them funny). It was because he didn't feel that people should make fun of politicians, thinking that the very idea of doing so was arrogant. He said, "I doubt that the writers of SNL could run the country any better."
Before I go on, let me give you a situation. Imagine you have a leak in your kitchen. You hire a plumber. He rolls on in, and instead of fixing said leak, it increases. In a matter of moments it goes from being a leak to flooding the entire house. Your furniture, carpet, and many of your other belongings are now ruined. You end of staying at a hotel for a few days while your home is painstakingly (and expensively) being repaired.
A few days go by. You go to a restaurant to do lunch with a few good friends, trying to catch your breath while your life is in disarray. While munching on burgers you let out your woes, and say, "I plan on suing the plumber." And one of your friends rolls their eyes and says, "Well, you're not a plumber. Do you really think you could have done better?"
I imagine that if that happened to you, that your friendship with that person would be over immediately. And my point is that even if you don't have the qualifications for a job, and know in your heart of hearts that you'd do just as bad if not worse in that same position, you are still able to make informed criticisms of a person doing a poor job in their career (especially if it directly affects your life!).
You may not be a plumber, but you would hope that the person you hired to fix a leak would be trained to do their job. You may not be a doctor, but you would sincerely hope that the doctor fixing your broken leg from a ski trip would be able to do so. And when you spend your time and effort making informed decisions and go out to vote, you would hope that whoever got elected would have the qualifications to do their job.
So yes, I do not believe that using the phrase, "Well, could you do better?" is an argument for anything. And if one isn't able to do their job properly, then maybe one of the best things to do is make fun of them.
Anyway, in addition to going stir crazy, I am able to get a lot of thinking done while I am stuck inside with the snow. And I remembered several years ago, having a conversation about "Saturday Night Live" with a friend of mine. I remember talking about the sketches that we liked, and he said that he didn't like the political sketches they were doing (this was when Obama was still President). I asked him why, and it wasn't really because of his beliefs as far as politics (or that he simply didn't find them funny). It was because he didn't feel that people should make fun of politicians, thinking that the very idea of doing so was arrogant. He said, "I doubt that the writers of SNL could run the country any better."
Before I go on, let me give you a situation. Imagine you have a leak in your kitchen. You hire a plumber. He rolls on in, and instead of fixing said leak, it increases. In a matter of moments it goes from being a leak to flooding the entire house. Your furniture, carpet, and many of your other belongings are now ruined. You end of staying at a hotel for a few days while your home is painstakingly (and expensively) being repaired.
A few days go by. You go to a restaurant to do lunch with a few good friends, trying to catch your breath while your life is in disarray. While munching on burgers you let out your woes, and say, "I plan on suing the plumber." And one of your friends rolls their eyes and says, "Well, you're not a plumber. Do you really think you could have done better?"
I imagine that if that happened to you, that your friendship with that person would be over immediately. And my point is that even if you don't have the qualifications for a job, and know in your heart of hearts that you'd do just as bad if not worse in that same position, you are still able to make informed criticisms of a person doing a poor job in their career (especially if it directly affects your life!).
You may not be a plumber, but you would hope that the person you hired to fix a leak would be trained to do their job. You may not be a doctor, but you would sincerely hope that the doctor fixing your broken leg from a ski trip would be able to do so. And when you spend your time and effort making informed decisions and go out to vote, you would hope that whoever got elected would have the qualifications to do their job.
So yes, I do not believe that using the phrase, "Well, could you do better?" is an argument for anything. And if one isn't able to do their job properly, then maybe one of the best things to do is make fun of them.
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