The Gatekeepers of Reality.

There is a strange phenomenon in modern society. No matter what you believe, what dream you pursue, what project you undertake, or what questions you ask, there will always be someone waiting to tell you that you are wrong.

Not merely mistaken. Wrong.

They will tell you what is possible and what is impossible. They will tell you what is true and what is false. They will tell you which opinions are acceptable and which should be discarded. They will explain to you, often with remarkable confidence, why your experiences are invalid, your aspirations are unrealistic, and your conclusions are flawed.

These people are the Gatekeepers of Reality.

Every generation has them. They are not necessarily experts. They do not always possess special knowledge. In many cases they are simply individuals who have appointed themselves as custodians of acceptable thought.

Their authority comes not from wisdom but from certainty. And certainty is a powerful thing.

• The Gatekeeper does not ask questions. 

• The Gatekeeper provides answers.

• The Gatekeeper does not explore possibilities. 

• The Gatekeeper closes doors.

• The Gatekeeper does not encourage discussion. 

• The Gatekeeper ends it.

History is littered with examples of ideas that were ridiculed before they were accepted. 

Explorers were mocked for their ambitions. Inventors were laughed at for their creations. Artists were dismissed as cranks. Reformers were branded troublemakers.

At every stage there were people standing at the gate.

• "That will never work."

• "That cannot be true."

• "Nobody believes that."

• "Who do you think you are?"

The remarkable thing is that these phrases have survived through the centuries almost unchanged. The targets change. The language evolves. But the attitude remains exactly the same.

What drives this behaviour?

Part of it is fear. The unknown makes people uncomfortable. New ideas challenge existing beliefs. Alternative viewpoints force people to reconsider assumptions they may have held for years.

• It is often easier to dismiss a possibility than investigate it.

• It is easier to laugh than to learn.

• Easier to mock than to understand.

• Easier to condemn than to engage.

Another part is ego.

Many people become emotionally attached to being right. Not correct. Right. There is a difference.

• A person interested in discovering the truth is willing to change their mind when presented with new information.

• A person interested only in being right will defend their position regardless of the evidence.

The Gatekeeper's status depends upon appearing knowledgeable. Admitting uncertainty threatens that status. As a result, certainty becomes a performance. 

The performance can be found everywhere.

• On television.

• In newspapers.

• On social media.

• In pubs.

• In workplaces.

• In families.

Everywhere there are people declaring with absolute confidence that reality begins and ends exactly where they say it does. Yet reality has never cared very much about human certainty.

• Reality existed before experts.

• Reality existed before politicians.

• Reality existed before journalists.

• Reality existed before influencers.

• Reality does not require our permission.

• Reality simply is.

The danger comes when we start confusing consensus with truth. Consensus can be useful.

It can represent the best available understanding at a particular moment in time. But consensus is not infallible.

If it were, history would contain no mistakes. Every mistaken certainty of the past was once considered common sense. Every overturned assumption was once defended by respectable people. Every breakthrough was once considered unlikely.

That does not mean every unconventional idea is correct. Far from it. Many are wrong. Some are absurd. Some deserve rejection.

But the point is that ideas should succeed or fail through examination, evidence, debate, and scrutiny—not because a self-appointed Gatekeeper has declared the matter settled.

The health of any society depends upon its willingness to tolerate questions.

• Questions are not threats.

• Questions are tools.

• Without questions there is no discovery.

• Without questions there is no progress.

• Without questions there is only obedience.

Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that many Gatekeepers believe they are defending reality when in fact they are defending their own perception of it. Reality is vast. Human understanding is limited.

Every one of us sees only a fragment of the bigger picture. That should inspire humility.

Instead it often inspires arrogance.

Maybe the wisest position is not certainty but curiosity.

• Not "I know."

• But "What if?"

• Not "Case closed."

• But "Let's examine it."

• Not "You're delusional."

• But "Tell me why you think that."

The world would be a far more interesting place if more people were willing to explore ideas rather than police them. Because today's impossible dream may become tomorrow's achievement.

Today's ridiculous question may become tomorrow's accepted fact. And today's Gatekeeper of Reality may eventually discover that reality was never theirs to control in the first place.