Stop This Crazy Thing

If I’ve heard it a hundred times, I’ve heard it once, since I was a kid: “No question is a dumb question.”

So how come when someone raises questions now it’s referred to as evidence that person doesn’t believe in science? Why is the person who looks at information from different angles and insists on better answers called a “Conspiracy Theorist?” What happened to the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that we were known for? Isn’t asking questions and a quest for truth important? When headlines and news stories regularly use super-charged language to make important points, why wouldn’t that spark questions? When anyone can post stories and videos to social media, not only experts and professionals, why wouldn’t we critically look for credibility and verification? We’ve all studied history and politics and government. Some of us have traveled around the world. Some of us love to read and have learned a lot that way. Why would anyone believe at face value anything they see or read anywhere these days? Why wouldn't we ask how it's plausible to unilaterally allow scientists to run government? Aren’t epidemiologists and scientists necessary to provide their “expert” advice alongside the “expert” advice from economists and sociologists and policy makers, when it comes to shaping direction and providing leadership for millions and millions of people, living in unique local experiences? If we aren't getting answers, why wouldn't we keep asking how a one-size fits all solution addresses the complex problems of those suffering increased domestic abuse, mental illness, chemical abuse, suicide, job loss, childhood hunger to name a few? How can anyone refer to the lives lost in any of these ways (as a result of someone else’s decision) as “collateral damage?” Isn’t the cavalier-ness smug? If we really want to know the news and make our own informed decisions, maybe we need to scroll less and dig more.

You can find Dr. Fauci’s testimony to the Senate Committee here: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/congressional-testimony

The proposed legislation of N.R. 6666 is here too: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6666?s=1&r=2 We can also look for all the news that doesn’t see the light of day, and all of it should inform our thinking, possibly helping to diffuse the tone of conversations.

Here’s some recent stories that keep my world broadened:

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-india-workers/feature-in-locked-down-india-migrant-workers-walking-home-dial-for-help-idUSL4N2BK2DL

https://www.aafp.org/news/health-of-the-public/20200424measles-covid.html https://www.peterhaas.org/is-the-cure-killing-us-how-history-can-help-us-rethink-our-covid-response/ Please let’s stop relying on the mainstream media to feed us either this side or that side of what they think is true. We need a whole lot less hate and much more civil debate, friends. Oh, and less “unfriend-ing” of “friends” would help too, please.

We need to dig for truth and make decisions based on that as much as possible for the benefit of all concerned. I think it’s our civic responsibility. We can't stop asking questions. Lives depend on it.

No person’s life lost during this pandemic shutdown should simply be considered “collateral damage.”

*(Sorry I reverted to using a meme to illustrate my point, thanks to the influence of teenagers in the house!)