First published in Daily Maverick 168

Quite often the job that writers do in service of their communities is to articulate the problems of the day. Asking the right questions and providing a diagnosis is an incredibly difficult task.

It’s the ability to stand outside of an issue, even though it may be personal, to observe and perhaps see what those actively engaged in a situation cannot perceive from their vantage point.

The job of a good writer is to hold up a mirror to society so that it may see itself just a little clearer, even if it does not like what it sees. Writers can provide perspective. This does not mean they offer the objective truth. We can all look at and exist within the same set of facts and provide a different diagnosis, based on our own beliefs, history, biases and also our positionality.

My work usually involves mediating between parties with extremely different points of view on a very sensitive situation, in which they have a personal stake. I often see my job as providing perspective for each side. Quite often there isn’t a clear right or wrong side. Much of life is complicated but we desire clear-cut outcomes, with a victor and loser. The most helpful I can be as a facilitator or writer is in articulating the problem in a more nuanced and clear way, rather than providing a verdict and a solution.

As people we usually want to skip over the process of sitting with the problem and understanding its nature. Any writer or facilitator who is worth their salt will tell you that, after understanding the nature of the problem, they do not always know what the solution is. And perhaps they are not the right person to solve the issue.

Putting language to the issues that bedevil us is cathartic. And there is courage and wisdom in saying “I do not know what the answer is”.

Saying “I do not know” is very rare in a world of quick solutions, which pander to the public’s favour. For example, I may provide a critique of our retributive justice system but I may not have the answers on how exactly we should change it and which models will do the least harm. There are, however, experts that may provide more guidance than I can. The Covid-19 pandemic has, in light of its novel and confusing nature, brought us back to the humbling place of saying “we do not know”. This does not mean we resign ourselves. We keep searching and refining our questions.

The allure of being a know-it-all is created by our impatience, our fear of being seen as incompetent or ignorant, and also our desire for recognition. That desire to provide quick answers can lead to ethical dilemmas of people who come up with shortcuts instead of sustainable solutions. We have not even mastered the art of asking the right questions, but we want to leap ahead to solutions, the results of which will only be as good as the questions asked.

Quick and untested solutions foreclose important conversations, research and engagement that can facilitate better solutions. Saying “I do not know” invites others to help and to co-create the solution. In the words of John Lennon, how can we move forward when we do not even know which way we are facing?

Let’s take the time to make sure we are facing the right direction before we think we have found the way. The iterative process of getting the question right can provide insights that will yield and facilitate the emergence of the right answer. Do not rush. DM168