Trusty Mr. Science

Does “Trust the Science” really just mean “Trust the establishment”?

The COVID-19 lockdown era introduced a myriad of novel phrases and concepts to our society’s vocabulary. Suddenly, laymen everywhere could be heard grappling with terminology like herd immunity, aerosols, and Monoclonal Antibodies. Some enlightened few even graduated to using the term PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to refer to the surgical masks and face-shields that became standard protocol across the globe. The rest of us looked on with awe and admiration.

Among the many additions to our society for which COVID was responsible, is the slogan “Trust the Science”. For context, this was a catchphrase primarily uttered by establishment leftists, and lent itself to the image of the “informed Democrat”—a competent and serious academician with a knowledge base supplied by the Scientific Literature™. Contrast this with depictions of the skeptical independent or, God forbid, the dreaded, cynical conservative—portrayed as a gaggle of witch doctors and homeopaths, snorting hydroxychloroquine and sticking leeches to one another while praying for protection from their ‘Almighty’. Fools!

The line at the time was that it was not just silly for these skeptics to question the logic of COVID mask and vaccine mandates and to explore less harmful or invasive remedies, it was WRONG. Morally wrong. These reprobates had been weighed, measured, and found guilty of the new crime of the century: Not Trusting the Science.

Individuals responsible for such Scientific Skepticism, like Joe Rogan, were publicly lambasted and discredited, while digital censorship regimes ‘cleansed’ online forums of any viewpoints that were contrary to the perspectives espoused by Mr. Science himself. The most dangerous aspect of this viewpoint intolerance is that, since COVID, the mentality has been extended to any viewpoint that appeared to challenge “established fact”—even completely non-scientific topics. Interested in exploring whether COVID originated in a lab rather than a wet-market? CENSORED! Wanna discuss evidence of Biden’s foreign influence peddling? VERBOTEN! Trying to question the safety of water fluoridation? CENSOR THAT RACIST! (?)

Who is this ‘Mr. Science’ Anyway?

The first, most glaring problem with the “Trust the Science” narrative, and especially with the censorship of alternative perspectives, is that it makes no sense. “Trust the Science” is, ironically, completely contrary to the scientific method. Per the scientific method, there is essentially no such thing as an absolute ‘fact’. There are observable phenomena that can be observed and repeated, and there are theories that explain such phenomena, but these theories can never be proven: only supported or disproven. Thus, ‘science’ inherently requires asking questions of established theories. AKA Not Trusting the Science.

Secondly, we have very good reason not to blindly trust the ‘scientific’ recommendations for our health and well-being. The COVID clown-show had a silver lining in that it produced perhaps a prime cache of reasons why we would be remiss not to question any future ‘scientific’ recommendations being rained down upon us. From the mythical benefits of ‘masking’, to the questionable (at best) safety and efficacy of the vaccines, to the wet-lab origins of the virus itself—the entire pandemic was one huge barrage of ‘fake science’. But is this unique to the COVID-19 era?

We all remember the nifty multi-colored visual known as the Food Pyramid, right? The Pyramidical tyrant that has guided the dietary choices of American children and adults alike for over 3 decades? The one that told us to eat 75 servings of grains per week, and to base our entire diet on carbohydrates and flour? Well, it turns out the dietary choices promoted by the Food Pyramid have contributed in no small part to America’s epidemic of obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes. Frightening to think that a replica of the Food Pyramid has been plastered to every 9th grade biology classroom for the last 30 years….

But how could we have been misled for so long? It turns out the Food Pyramid was concocted by scientists and doctors in close consultation with the Department of Agriculture, an executive agency of the U.S. federal government that aims to promote and maximize the development of commercial farming. Could this potentially have influenced the decision to emphasize grain consumption and carb reliance? There are many who believe it was the primary driving factor. Regardless, the main takeaway is that, despite being formulated by Mr. Science himself, the Food Pyramid was a load of nonsense that did more harm than good.

What about the Flu Vaccine? Everyone knows the importance of purchasing the yearly flu vaccine to combat the latest variant and reduce likelihood of severe illness. It’s especially important to vaccinate the elderly, right? Right? Riiight? Well no. For years, studies in America and abroad have shown no correlation between vaccination rates and mortality rates in any population or age demographic. You may not be aware of these studies—many believe that federal agencies such as the CDC and NIH have affirmatively suppressed such findings.

And, because we mentioned water fluoridation earlier, studies have linked fluoride exposure during pregnancy to adverse effects on a child’s development, including lower IQ scores, neurobehavioral problems, and issues with executive functioning. Gee, thanks Mr. Science.

Go to Hell, Mr. Science…?

It would be one thing if the “Trust the Science” viewpoint intolerance during COVID-19 was simple credentialism, or favoring the word of medical and scientific professionals over that of non-academics and conspiracists. But, as exhibited by the Flu Vaccine studies (and numerous other examples), even the views of scientific professionals are readily and immediately suppressed and discredited if they fail to conform to the established narrative.

So what we’re dealing with here isn’t Trust the Science. It’s Trust the Establishment. No thanks.

No ‘truth’ should be unquestionable. Unquestionable truth is also called dogma, and is generally disfavored in any kind of free society. But all this is not to say that scientific studies and real empirical data should not guide our health choices and dietary decisions in some broad way. However, if the last few years have taught us anything, unpopular or fringe views are sometimes more accurate than the mainstream.  

Although we in the 21^st century ridicule earlier generations for their “lead paint stares” and arsenic-laden makeup cases, can we be sure that we are so different? Perhaps, among our “established” science and normalized beliefs, there is an ‘unknown unknown’, secretly causing public harm on a scale equivalent to the accidental lead poisoning and arsenic contamination that secretly plagued previous generations. Suppressing criticism and dissent, and blindly trusting the science will only cause us to remain ignorant of any such poison for as long as that blind faith persists.

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority”

-          Ben Franklin

“You have the right to free speech. As long as you’re not dumb enough to actually try it”

-          Joe Strummer