Calling themselves conservative in an unconscious self-sarcasm, a cadre of citizens are currently conniving against the very concept of competence. A couple of their constituencies are advocating for the carrying of concealed weapons and dismissing the research on climate change.
A measure of their nefarious success is that the issues of concealed carry and climate change are seldom linked.
The argument in favor of concealed weapons seems to boil down to a simple assertion: "Without any specialized training, I am as competent to wield deadly force against my fellow citizens as highly trained and closely supervised peace officers." Such an argument makes light not only of the hours of weapons training which candidates for law enforcement position undertake, but also requirements for understanding the principles of law and the psychology of persons under extreme stress.
In other words, the argument for concealed carry is essentially that whatever superficial thoughts may flit through my mind are entirely sufficient for the maintenance of public order.
The argument in opposition to dealing with climate change, or sometimes even to admitting that any change is occurring, seems to boil down to this simple assertion: "Without any education in the subject matter, and without spending any time collecting, analyzing, or reading any data, I fully competent to understand completely whatever is happening with the world's climate." Such an argument makes light not only of the years of study which researchers undertake to understand the physics and chemistry which lies behind our climate, but also of the decades of concentrated effort and wide public discussion designed to understand what actually has changed through the centuries.
In other words, the argument for ignoring climate change is essentially that whatever superficial thoughts may flit through my mind are entirely sufficient to understand everything about climate.
One would not take such positions if one believed in the diligence and care which gives rise to competence. In actual reality, competence is the result of hard work.