Everybody knows, they always do. I like to think I am open minded, unless you are just bat-shit stupid wrong in which case I am not open minded. But if you can make a reasonable, rational, argument, I will certainly hear you out. I like to have my mind opened and I like to explore new possibilities, but it takes rational thought to do that and it is sorely, sorely missing these days.
You see, everybody knows.
Everybody knows exactly what is going on in the country, hell, in the world. They know man, they know.
If you point out to them that what 'everybody knows' is typically confirmation bias, which is hearing an argument you want to agree with and selling it off as your own rational thought is what 'everybody knows' they will immediately attack you, because they have never heard of confirmation bias. 'Everybody knows' things, these specific things, but they don't know what confirmation bias is, so they discount it. You could say it is just susceptibility to propaganda, but those are big words, and 'everybody knows' people just use big words when they can't explain something adequately to a listener. 'Everybody knows three dollar words are bullshit.'
I see this more and more when discussing anything government related or regarding the financial market. The talking heads on both sides make a living, a pretty good living, discussing what 'everybody knows'. They dress it up, spin it a bit, give it the old razzle dazzle, and it comes out the other side sounding like the ten commandmants, but it's really just wishful thinking or hateful thinking, depending on the outcome you are looking for. The best thing about negativity is that eventually you will be right. Bad things will happen, on a long enough time line, its almost a guarantee.
Take crypto for example. Cryptocurrency, the new, although it's not exaclty a babe in the woods anymore, the new medium of exchange that these damn kids are using to buy stuff and sell stuff. To most folks, it is this mythical wonderland of 1s and 0s that people pretend has value, but 'everybody knows' it is just another Tulip Frenzy and that it will come shattering down any moment now....any moment...wait for it. And when it doesn't, well then 'everybody knows' the government can just flip a switch and end the whole thing. 'Everybody knows' that the government has total control over the money supply and they will never, ever, be challenged on it. 'Everybody knows' this. So when crypto is mentioned to a non-believer, their simple reply is always the same, 'Tulips' and 'the government will shut it down whenever they want to...magic switch man.' In fact, 'everybody knows' so much about this, that they all bought BitCoin for pennies.
Did you? Did you buy BitCoin cheap? Or are you an 'Everybody knows' kind of person? Did your financial advisor steer you away from Crypto? Did he buy any? Is he still steering you away from it because 'everybody knows' it is 'Tulips'?
I can't help but notice these days that 'everybody knows' everything. It doesn't matter what the subject is, they know. Its not Orwellian so much as Barnumesque. You are very warm, but sometimes you are cold. You are very outgoing, but sometimes you aren't. You are foolhardy, but sometimes you are very, very, thoughtful. See that? I know everything about you, 'everybody knows'.
The funniest part to me comes from an old saying, 'Hindsight is always 20/20.' It reminds me of a south park character, my favorite one, 'Captain Hindsight'. He shows up after the accident and points out all of the ways it could have been prevented. And although the premise of that is hysterical to me, people seem to have adapted their thought patterns to living in hindsight now, but believing they had it right the whole time.
'I knew it!' Doesn't matter what 'it' is, they knew it! And when they are eventually proven right, the meteor does eventually strike the earth, they knew it the whole time. Did they plan for it? No. But they knew it was going to happen. Not the day, or week, or month, or even decade, but they knew eventually they would be right.
Here's a tip for ya sport, eventually everything bad that can happen, will happen, just a matter of time. But, there are lots of detours and sidebars before the meteor does eventually strike the earth rendering all life upon it turned to dust, but it's not today or even tomorrow. And 'everybody knowing' a thing that eventually transpires does not make you Nostradamus. If you knew, really knew, something bad was going to happen, you would be specific. I don't hear a lot of specificity these days, just a lot of negativity, and those are radically different things.