How often recently have you heard a reference to “the Science”? You hear it more from the Left than the Right because the Left thinks that by invoking “Science” all their positions are automatically affirmed, while the Right continues to apply common sense, critical thinking and skepticism to even the most hallowed scientific pronouncements.
Take the wildfires in California. Despite the fact (and I mean FACT) that the fires were set by arsonists or by careless attendees of a “gender reveal” party (.sic!), the leftist loons claim they’re the result of “Climate Change”. Does anyone with half a brain still listen to such nonsensical drivel? The fires were started by humans and spread uncontrolled because years of environmental “protection” banned the thinning of underbrush and prevented the cutting of fire breaks!
But, says the Left, “Science will solve all our problems”. Just “follow the science” and all will be well, because, as one thinking, rightfully skeptical author put it…. “Because, SCIENCE! YAAAAAY.” As the author, Sharon Hill aptly points out, “People who advocate fanatical reliance on science—where all competing methods of gaining knowledge are illegitimate—are practicing scientism.”
The subject of Scientism can and has produced thousands of pages and years of argument. The key point, in my opinion, is that there is a difference between Scientific proof and the application of the Scientific Method. Just because the Scientific Method can produce repeatable results in a laboratory does NOT mean a universal truth has been discovered or established. Or, that policy should be made based on the results!
When politicians invoke Science as their explanation for everything, they make fools of themselves. When they invoke Science as the basis for policy-making, they simply expose their biases and proclivities. Science has become a bludgeon on common sense and rational thinking.
The Wuhan Virus pandemic is a clear case-in-point. After all these months what should the reasonably informed, thinking adult conclude? Here’s my take:
1. It’s a deadly virus but not a whole lot more deadly than a nasty flu. While it kills people more selectively and more rapidly than some other viruses, and while it may be spread somewhat more easily than the flu, colds and bacterial infections, the numbers, especially when discounted for all the “woke” interference, medical reimbursement gameplaying, false positive testing, (false negative testing as well for that matter), political opportunistic/anti Trump hysteria, foot-dragging, dumb decisions, inaccurate conclusions, media hype and soccer-mom hand wringing…despite all that… the numbers show that the number of people who have contracted, been infected, been hospitalized and who have died in this pandemic have been about as with a severe flu season.
2. The reaction to the pandemic has been disproportionate to its threat. It’s pretty clear to me that the media hyperventilating and the fickle, hypocritical flip-flopping and rhetoric of the Left is based not on Science but politics. As I’ve noted numerous times, I’m no big fan of Trump, but the Left’s use of “Science” and the weaponization of the crisis to try to harm him, at the expense of the country’s economy not to mention the deaths caused because of fear of obtaining care for things totally unrelated to the virus, is disgusting and morally repugnant and should be to any objective observer.
3. The response SHOULD HAVE been similar to that of a bad flu season, i.e. “if you’re sick, stay home from work”. If you’re really sick, go see your doctor or get to a clinic. If your symptoms are so sudden and acute (e.g. like a heart attack or inability to breathe!) that you’re worried you might not live, call 9-11 and seek emergency care! The impact of politicians desperately trying to show they’re doing something through news conference infomercials turned out to be reckless in some cases. For example, Cuomo’s order to send infected seniors back to their nursing homes, long term care and hospice facilities for fear of insufficient hospital beds had a devastating negative impact on deaths!
4. Face masks (a.k.a. “face diapers”) do more to make people feel safe than actually protect either the wearer or the people around them. Common sense suggests that giving people the false sense of security that a mask provides may actually do more harm than good as people crowd closer to one another and aerosolized virus may then actually reach each other. Social Distancing, a term I hate because it has the same “wokeness” sound as Social Justice isn’t about being social or not social. It’s about being physically separate…kind of like when someone with a cold is coughing or sneezing near you!
5. If, God forbid, Joe Biden wins the election in November, miraculously the pandemic will disappear. That’s because the Science will then reflect that he/it saved us all. The Leftist, sycophantic media will herald the virus’s demise as a response to getting rid of the “science-deniers” presently in the White House. Ugh…my breakfast creeps up at the thought.
6. We need to stop listening to the so-called experts and use our heads. Some things OF COURSE make sense…they’re the same things our mothers taught us when we were kids…”wash your hands”, “cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough”, “if you’re REALLY not feeling well, stay home, but that doesn’t mean you get to watch tv all day”, “if you’re running a persistent fever, we’re going to the doctor”… etc.
As Sharon Hill concludes in her article: “Science is an awesome thing. It has well-deserved respect in our society because it’s damned reliable compared to other ways of finding out. Because of those qualities, it’s easy to overreach and attribute problem-solving capabilities to the scientific method alone.”
Amen.
