I listened to an interesting podcast from Invisiblia recently called “Frame of Reference” (it was released on July 8, 2016). It really got me thinking about how what we think is affected by our experiences. I would recommend taking some time and listening to it.
As I am writing this, the Presidential race is in full swing. I have friends who are Republicans. I have friends who are Democrats. They obviously have different views.
Any time I look on Facebook or Twitter, I see posts about how terrible Hillary Clinton is or how awful Donald Trump is. In the past few months, I have had conversations with family and friends about both candidates.
Of course, I have my own views on who is the best Presidential candidate. But, discussing those is not the purpose of this post. Instead, I want to talk about the variety of opinions among friends that I know and respect. I also want to talk about what in the world that has to do with Georgia workers’ compensation law.
Why don’t all of our friends think alike?
Many of us probably wonder why our friends don’t think just like us. After all, they are intelligent, caring people. It would seem natural that they would have the same opinions as us on political issues.
Experience tells us this is not the case. Our frame of reference seems to affect our opinions. It shapes how we react.
One friend of mine is all about the importance of being able to own and use guns. Another friend is very much in favor of gun control.
But both of them agree that gun violence is terrible. One thinks that gun ownership helps control gun violence. The other thinks that the availability of guns contributes to gun violence.
Does more gun availability mean more or less gun violence? I don’t have the answer, but each of us has our opinion on this issue.
We also have an opinion on whether Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton would make a better President. We have “opinions” about doctors, lawyers, police officers, veterans, and used car salesmen.
So what does any of this have to do with workers’ compensation?
Good question. We all have opinions about workers’ compensation. In fact, you may even have a gut reaction when someone says “workers’ compensation” just like you probably have a gut reaction to “politician”, “charity”, “liberal”, or “conservative”.
I have my opinions about workers’ compensation. My purpose here is not to get you to agree with mine. My purpose is just to get you to think about your opinion about workers’ compensation (and everything else for that matter).
I realize my opinion is shaped by my experiences in life. My granddad, my dad, my aunt, my brother-in-law, and I have all spent many hours of our lives helping injured workers. All of us have seen how Georgia’s workers’ compensation system has often failed to meet their needs.
I also have friends who own small businesses or work in larger businesses who will tell me about how some people abuse the workers’ compensation system for their benefit. They have a different frame of reference than I do.
You have probably had some experience with workers’ compensation that affects our perception of it. Most of us have been fortunate enough to never experience a serious work-related injury. Many of us have had a friend or family member who was injured on the job.
Some of us have worked in jobs where they knew people who were injured. Still others work in jobs for insurance companies or doctor’s offices where they deal with workers’ compensation claims every day.
Despite these experiences, many of us have limited knowledge of Georgia’s workers’ compensation system. To truly understand Georgia’s workers’ compensation system and how it works, you probably need to get some more information.
Find people you know and trust and talk to them about it. Learn from what they know. Try to experience different frames of reference so you can get a true perspective.
You will be surprised how much there is to learn. Sharing information is one of my favorite things to do. It has become part of what our law firm’s mission.
I’d be happy to share information with you. You can find out information about Georgia workers’ compensation law and other areas of the law on our blogs, our YouTube page, or on our firm’s social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Please let me apologize in advance for the fact that I have my own frame of reference and may be a little biased, but I look forward to sharing information with you.
