I have chosen this topic because of skepticism about science in the population exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the president's harangues against expertise of all stripes. The word science comes from the Latin for "to know". The relatively large size and complexity of the human brain has meant we are not only uniquely capable of studying our surroundings but that it is inevitable we do so. The acquisition and accumulation of knowledge has made it possible for humans to not just survive but thrive in a hostile environment and the fact that language, literature, the arts and natural sciences have developed throughout history in all cultures means that this ability is not restricted by time, geography or race/ethnicity. We are constantly building on knowledge developed by previous generations. Advances in information technology have meant unprecedented sharing of data across the globe at the speed of light. A basic tenet of the scientific method has remained unchanged over the course of history and that is the process of hypothesis followed by observation resulting in confirmation or rejection of the hypothesis. Understandably, the hypotheses which survive are the ones we remember. The man or woman who made a square wheel probably did not want to be remembered, for that anyway. While this is a simplistic example, the point is that success in science is preceded by false starts and outright mistakes. As a corollary the pursuit of knowledge is endless with almost certainly no such thing as perfection. No scientist worth the name would claim to be omniscient or infallible. Yet the political and religious Right is constantly casting doubts on scientific facts based on the mistakes made along the road to their acquisition. Ironically, they do so while smugly asserting their own baseless beliefs, many of which fly in the face of established facts. Examples of this are many: the belief that Earth is 6000 years old (and flat), that humans co-existed with dinosaurs, that Creationism must get equal time with Evolution in schools, the refusal to go metric, to name a few. People may be inclined to give them a pass on this issue notching it up to political expediency. But when political expediency leads to the mishandling of a public health issue, it is time to call it out. The denigration of Dr. Fauci and other experts has to stop. They are not infallible, but they are also not acting out of political or financial self-interest which is clearly what is behind efforts to undermine them. A non-partisan analysis of the course of the pandemic in different countries and in different parts of our country shows beyond reasonable doubt that our federal government screwed this up with the willing participation of Republicans on the Hill and in many Red states compounded by the hostility of roughly a third of the population to any kind of expertise. The recommendation to wear a mask and avoid crowds is based on science and is not a political conspiracy to oust Trump, no matter how loudly they assert it is. And when implemented halfheartedly or not at all, was doomed to meet with limited success. His one public appearance in a mask was probably due to the fact that he was visiting wounded veterans at Walter Reed Medical Center. Even some in his base may have balked at that, or so he feared. If anyone needed proof that this combination of political corruption, stubbornness and ignorance of the facts is detrimental to the Republic, the pandemic provided it in spades. There is only one way to stop this downward spiral - VOTE IN NOVEMBER!
- drrama7