The Dr. Controversy

The Wall Street Journal recently posted an op-ed that criticized Jill Biden for identifying herself as Dr. Jill Biden. That piece drew a lot of backlash. I have no desire to scrutinize the original article, but I think this would be a good time to clarify my views on the title of Dr.

If you know me, you should be able to guess my views on the title. I am not a credentialist. Whether or not people can identify themselves as doctors is entirely dependent on credentials. Obviously, I'm not a fan.

There is no mandate that those who purchased a doctorate must start their names with Dr. This is a choice. Why exactly is it that someone would include the title? In short, it's because they think it makes them better than those who don't possess the piece of paper.

As I have mentioned before, the United States has embraced a caste-like system. How we view people is dependent on the most advanced piece of paper obtained. Doctors are viewed as the top-ranking class within this system.

A piece of paper is insufficient to put anyone above anyone else. Some people put the caste-like system above the obvious. They truly believe that a piece of paper means that they are superior beings. It's this arrogance that drives people to insist that they are referred to as Dr.

There are a lot of problems with embracing a caste-like system built around credentials. We promote discrimination against those who dare to learn elsewhere. We slam doors shut on highly capable individuals who don't possess the right pieces of paper. We diminish economic mobility. We promote inequality. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accurately referred to Trump as classist (then contradicted herself) when he insisted on judging on the basis of credentials. Oddly enough, she remains silent when it's a Democrat pushing the same mentality.

How about medical doctors? This is a little trickier. We have pushed the title so hard that these doctors will be labeled with the title regardless of their views. Even so, I would prefer that they don't carry the label with them outside of the job.

I should clarify that I don't hold a grudge against people who own the piece of paper. Although I don't believe in credentialsim, I can't deny that we live in a credentialist society. When opportunity is tied to credentials rather than ability, I can't blame anyone or discriminate against anyone for pursuing the credentials. The issue here is when people put credentials above all else. A title says nothing about real and meaningful accomplishments.

There's no need for anyone to call themselves a doctor. Being a doctor doesn't prove any legitimately positive traits for an individual. The only trait that can legitimately be extracted from demanding the title is arrogance. This is definitely a negative. For this reason, I would prefer that people to stop adding those two letters and the punctuation mark in front of their names.