The world feels like it’s run by middle-schoolers on a group project—loud, dramatic, convinced they’re always right. Every headline is outrage. Every post is a fight. Every conversation feels like a contest where nobody remembers the assignment.

I keep looking around for someone to get control. Anyone. Anyone? Bueller? BUELLER?

Where are the adultier adults? Did wisdom leave the building?

As a washed-up middle-aged model, I think of it like fashion: our world is being overrun by ego—cheap, flashy trends with zero substance. Wisdom has gone out – shoved to the back of the closet while ego struts the runway. Shein is in charge right now and We Are Screwed.

When did wisdom go out of style?

Wisdom isn’t trending because it’s boring. It just sits quietly in the corner. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t come with a TikTok dance.

Wisdom tells you to think before you post. To listen before you argue. To admit you might be wrong. To recognize you don’t know as much as you think you do.

Wisdom reminds us to ask questions – to dialogue – actual conversations with actual people IN REAL LIFE. We are going around making decisions on individual people, groups, governments, on science, health and individual rights based on social media posts and reddit. We fill in the information blanks of soundbites and headlines and we are making adult decisions with kindergarten knowledge.

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
― Albert Einstein

We don’t let wisdom take the lead because it’s boring. It takes work. It’s hard. But wisdom is what keeps civilizations from burning down.

Wisdom is the art of seeing clearly—through the fog of ego, through the distortion of fear, through the glitter of trends—to what is true, to what is good.

It is humility in the face of complexity.
It is courage in the presence of pressure.
It is compassion when cruelty would be easier.

At West Point, the Cadet Prayer says,

“Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won.”

Try turning that into a clickbait headline. It won’t sell. And that’s exactly the point.

The opposite of boring, old wisdom is shiny, flashy, Ego.

“The ego is a fascinating monster.” — Alanis Morissette

We can dress it up in different words: foolishness, ignorance, arrogance, recklessness. But they all wear the same outfit.

Wisdom is humble; arrogance is not.
Wisdom listens; foolishness interrupts.
Wisdom slows down; recklessness speeds past the warning signs.
Wisdom clarifies; ego distorts.

And right now all across my social media feed, ego has the microphone.

Our culture has learned to crave what’s quick, loud, and emotionally charged. A salacious sound bite delivers a dopamine hit: outrage, laughter, validation, belonging. Social media didn’t invent this impulse—it just supercharged it, giving us endless hits on demand.

Every scroll trains our brains to expect more: sharper, louder, more extreme. Yesterday’s outrage isn’t enough. Tomorrow’s has to cut deeper. That’s why headlines scream louder than the story beneath them, and why everything from political debates to the evening news sound more like theater than thoughtful dialogue.

Wisdom, by contrast, is a slow burn. It doesn’t flood us with dopamine. It requires patience, reflection, humility—all things our sound-bite culture has taught us to see as weakness, or worse, boredom.

But the irony is this: what satisfies in the moment rarely sustains in the long run. Outrage burns hot and leaves us empty. Wisdom doesn’t trend, but it nourishes.

I still hate oatmeal.

Wisdom endures long after the shouting fades. It helps us navigate challenges, cultivate personal growth and emotional intelligence, build stronger relationships, and live more fulfilling lives. Wisdom guides us—bringing down the temperature so we can focus on what is right and what is good. It enables us to act in ways that bring life, grace, peace, and hope.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.” – Proverbs 3:5 MSG