Known, Unknown, Uncertain

            There are many things I know, many things I do not know, and an even greater number things of which I am uncertain. It is that which is uncertain that troubles the most; the relentless desire to acquire an answer in the face of the maybe that leaves one effete and overwhelmed.

            Where once it was water, now it is the uncertainty that is overwhelming. For those affected by the flood, it is the uncertainty of what properties will be demolished, of whom will be bought out when and for what amount, of when building permits can be attained that frustrates and forestalls action. For those mobilized by the flood, it is the uncertainty of the scope of the needs, the number of houses left to be done.

            The problem with uncertainty is that it leads so quickly to speculation specious and deplete of value. A best guess can be a pernicious thing. What is oft repeated is apt to be believed to be true, and a rumor of unknown origin can feel especially convincing. In this way the uncertain becomes the unknown becomes the known, and when something known is proven to be fallacious unmet expectations are met with anger and disappointment and uncertainty is met with despair.

            With the decisions whose outcomes are uncertain remaining with a coterie of city officials and higher authorities, I have found the best that can be done for those living in an atmosphere of uncertainty is to simply say only that which I know to be true. Although there is much I do not know and even more of which I am uncertain, this I know: rumors and fallacies not as innocuous as they first appear and people deserve better than half-truths and empty words, especially in the face of uncertainty.