Knowing What You Know

Climate change activists, gun control advocates, and pro-life campaigners have several things in common. One thing is this: They use what they know or think they know. But, thinking and believing aren’t the same as knowing. Please, take a couple of minutes to think about your own activism, advocacy, social marketing, strategic planning, volunteering, and so on while you consider the importance of separating what you know from what you think or hope or believe.

Facts, Knowledge, and Gun Control:

Knowledge is not subjective. You can say Lyon would make a better capital than Paris, but that doesn’t make Lyon the capital of France. You might think you know how two facts are connected, but you are really expressing what you want or believe. Lyon may have a bigger population than Nashville, Tennessee but this is something you should know instead of assuming or thinking about.

Consider a social issue that keeps coming up — gun control. What policies or programs or laws help reduce gun violence? In what circumstances? When you think of gun laws, advertising, and so on, do you know what’s worked or not? Many people would like to believe that banning certain kinds of guns would have a substantial impact on gun violence. Would it?

The question sidesteps the wider issue of violent crime: are guns even the right place to focus? Remember Impact, Interest, Ability, and Knowledge? We know that many people are concerned about gun violence, particularly mass shootings and school shootings. They are only a small portion of all violent crime each year, even in a really bad year for mass shootings that will be true.

Consider social media activism and gun control. What works? I guess it depends on your goal. Do you want to create awareness? I would question how much good that does, but anyway, you can measure shares and likes to determine what kinds of social media post get the most attention. But, what if you want more? What if you want to see your state legislature pass a new gun control law.

Check Your Assumptions:

Before diving into a social issue, spend some time taking an inventory of what you know, versus what you only think or believe. Then take a closer look at your assumptions. You assume less access to powerful firearms will mean less gun violence. Do you assume people are okay with factory farming because they don’t know how abusive it really is? If you assume that is so, you will invest resources in tactics that might not do any good.

Take a few minutes to revisit your goal. What assumptions did you use in creating that goal? Are those assumptions justified, or did you just want something to be true?