Thanks to the information environment we inhabit, we Americans increasingly inhabit alternate “realities.” I’ve put quotation marks around the term “realities,” because it has become very clear that the universe in which too many Americans have chosen to reside is at odds with–indeed, incompatible with–empirical reality. The amount of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and other varieties of mis- and dis-information readily available online greatly facilitates the very human desire to indulge in confirmation bias–and the failure of civic and scientific education has facilitated widespread acceptance of “realities” wildly at odds with fact and credible evidence.
It seems pertinent, therefore, to ask: what happens when people choose to deny empirical evidence and facts they find inconvenient or annoying? What, for example, might we expect from RFK, Jr’s refusal to understand the science of vaccines, or the demonstrable benefits of a fluoridated water supply?
History is instructive. I did some (very superficial) research, and found fascinating (and depressing) evidence of humanity’s past experience with the denial of science and empirical inquiry.
Before acceptance of germ theory, for example, many people believed diseases like cholera were caused by the presence of “miasma” (bad air). As a result, governments took no effective measures to control cholera outbreaks–and doctors who warned about the dangers of contaminated water were ignored. The result was thousands of unnecessary deaths.
The tendency to ignore and reject scientific evidence hasn’t been confined to America. In Russia, in the early 20th Century, a Soviet agricultural scientist named Lysenko rejected the science of genetics in favor of pseudoscientific ideas like Lamarckian inheritance (the belief that physical changes made to an organism during its lifetime would be passed on–inherited by the organism’s offspring.) Stalin’s government embraced Lysenko’s theories, suppressed the scientists who supported Mendelian genetics, and based its agricultural policies on Lysenkoism. The result was widespread crop failures and famines that caused millions of deaths.
I found plenty of other historical examples: delays in accepting the science of plate tectonics that hindered advancements in understanding earthquakes, volcanic activity, and geological hazards. Initial medical responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis that were hampered by widespread stigma and misinformation. Vaccine disinformation (especially the consistently debunked claim that vaccines cause autism) has led to reduced vaccination rates, and the resurgence of diseases like measles, polio, and whooping cough that medical science had virtually eradicated.
Numerous studies have confirmed that the MAGA movement’s resistance to masks and vaccines during the COVID pandemic cost the U.S. thousands of lives–a far greater percentage of American citizens died than the percentage of people living in countries where the population had more respect for medical science. Delays in lockdowns, resistance to public health measures, and vaccine rejection caused millions of preventable deaths and significant economic damage.
And I don’t even want to theorize about the likely consequences of climate change denial…
Ironically, MAGA’s stubborn resistance to empiricism and fact flies in the face of what actually made America great.
America’s founders were students of the Enlightenment, especially the philosophy of John Locke, often considered the father of empiricism. The Founders committed themselves to unleashing the power of reason to advance knowledge and to build an effective and responsive government. They believed that science and democracy worked together, and often expressed their intent to base government policy on the best available data and the most up-to-date, empirical understanding of the world.
As the Union of Concerned Scientists wrote in 2012, “science and democracy, working hand in hand, have proved a powerful combination that has helped our nation to prosper and thrive throughout our history.”
That partnership of science and government is what enabled America’s economic “greatness.” The country’s economic growth has significantly depended on empiricism and technological innovation; advances in industries like aerospace, computing, and biotechnology have all been dependant upon rigorous science and empirical evidence. Respect for science and empiricism has also been crucial to the development of the military defense technologies that have made the U.S. a world power. (Think radar, GPS, and nuclear energy.)
Trump and the MAGA movement are the absolute antithesis of the respect for science, evidence and expertise that is actually at the base of America’s global preeminence. The collection of clowns, buffoons, and know-nothings that Trump has nominated for his cabinet make a mockery of MAGA’s promise to return America to greatness.
What is that famous Santayana quote? Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.
Welcome to Lysenkoism.
This post is terrifying, and brought to mind this post about future failures that trump will likely impose, with global implications: https://bsky.app/profile/aaronsojourner.org/post/3l5uzmf3suc25
A line from the movie “Gone With The Wind” spoken by Rhett Butler, “There is as much money to be made by the destruction of a civilization as their is from building one.” The so called “Reconstruction” of the south is still proving that to be true.
JoAnn, your comment about Reconstruction brings to mind what we were taught in junior high and high school, and what actually occurred. Teachers said that Reconstruction was a failure & if only States of what had been the Confederacy had been left alone, somehow things would have been “okay.” The reality: Reconstruction was not easy. Much of the South was devastated and about 38% of the population was suddenly “free,” i.e.,former slaves, many of whom had lived in States that had forbidden teaching slaves how to read and write. The Pres election of 1876, however, handed the loser in popular votes, Republican Hayes, the White House in exchange for withdrawing Federal troops from the South. (See, “Fraud of the Century,” Roy Morris, Jr.
“John Locke is considered a key figure of the Age of Enlightenment, as his philosophical ideas, particularly regarding natural rights and limited government, strongly aligned with the Enlightenment values of reason, individual liberty, and skepticism towards absolute authority; he lived during the late 17th century, with his most influential works being written during the peak of the Enlightenment period.”
Enlightenment is empiricism.
Science applies to everything in the Universe, including life in all its forms and our big brains.
Here’s a helpful shortcut. Empirics read. Others listen.
Sometimes it takes actual work to see and appreciate empirical facts. This paragraph speaks volumes about the resistance to the truth by fearful, ignorant people who are terrified to change:
“History is instructive. I did some (very superficial) research, and found fascinating (and depressing) evidence of humanity’s past experience with the denial of science and empirical inquiry.”
The Trump phenomenon shows how shallow, stupid, ignorant and lazy he and his followers actually are. Add to that the embrasure of backwardness promoted by evangelical Christian churches and you have a giant leap back 500 years.
Remember Stevie Wonder’s great song “Superstition”? The line that says it all is “… people fear what they don’t understand…” But understanding is now at everyone’s fingertips. All they have to do is open their computers or go to the libraries … or, God forbid, listen to their science teachers. The scientific method took centuries to appreciate, but it works … every time.
So, Republicans have learned that if you feed the lowest intellects the crap, lies and fairy tales they’ve been taught to believe through the various sources in their lives, they get their votes. Money and power, folks. It’s all Republicans care about. And their empirically ignorant voters will indeed vote against their own best interests because of that “propaganda”. Creatures like JFK, Jr. – who his own family says is as mad as a hatter – is the perfect vehicle for the party of morons.
“Rain follows the plow” was “accepted science” in 19th century U.S., advocated by, among others, ethnologist and amateur climatologist Cyrus Thomas. Some pioneers, intent on settling in the West, relied on those widely-accepted opinions and bet their savings on land they purchased which lacked only rainfall to produce successful crops.
In contrast, explorer, geologist and anthropologist John Wesley Powell, reported to Congress in 1890 that evidence he saw in the geology of the Colorado river basin proved there was historically so little rainfall that only very small settlements could be supported.
Congress rejected Powell’s 1890 report, and continued to prioritize rapid Western land distribution, presumably relying instead on the popular “scientific” prediction that rain would come once the land was plowed.
The plowed land of the West, plus the droughts of the 1890’s created the Dust Bowl cloud that darkened the skies as far east as Washington D.C. Here was the empirical evidence that proved Powell’s science was correct, and Cyrus Thomas’s amateur climatological opinion had no real scientific basis, no matter how many times it was repeated.
After reading the commentaries/comments here for the last few weeks, think the overall title of the blog needs to change to “Laments” – nary a few words about how to keep the country from going Hades way.
What if the best we can hope for is that serious split – the RSA/BSA sorta two countries? Maybe there enough folks who would like that rather than civil war or being ruled by Putin and the like? What might be a pragmatic way to get there? Just sayin’….
An interesting thing about reliable Mendelian genetics, is that decades after the death of Father Gregor Mendel, a mathematician reviewed Mendel’s findings in 1900 and found that Father Mendel had fudged his data. Though his conclusions about inherited characteristics in plants may have been correct, before he died Mendel destroyed much of his experimental data, and left only data that supported those conclusions too well.
The lesson to be learned is that all true scientists welcome being reviewed, challenged, objected to, confirmed, or refuted. If the scientist’s original thesis is correct, it will stand up to scrutiny. At a recent presentation by an MIT mechanical engineering professor, he began his presentation by inviting objections from the audience. He was confident in his thesis, and had no fear of being challenged by his peers. He published, and waited for feedback. This is the process of true science.
We live in an odd time when AI is being used to comb the internet in search of scientists whose opinions conflict with the dominant narrative. Scientists voicing minority opinions repeatedly report that their papers have been suppressed, their university positions threatened, and their reputations smeared by some entity who will not tolerate any questioning of the entity’s imposed instruction.
Lester, you know pragmatism has no place in the American Oligarchy. Who do you think has been rejecting science for eons? The greatest scientific mind in our history (Einstein) wrote a dictum about our Oligarchy in 1949 and exactly how to change it through socialism. He didn’t even get an invite to the White House by a democrat named Truman. A play was written about that fictitious meeting.
KJ’s point about the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will be interesting to watch, especially if trump initiates Schedule F and fires statistic professionals. However, we need to remember that the Kochs have built an empire with Art Laffer as the head economist of ALEC. Ole Art was laughed out of the economic profession due to his “curve.” There are economists in universities, and then there are libertarian economists in the education system, which teaches the Koch version. If you want Koch money (which 150 US colleges wish to), you’ll accept his brand of economists – look at Ball State University as an example.
After reading most of RFK Jr’s book, I am hoping for significant changes at the federal government level – mainly eliminating Big Pharma’s stronghold on our government regulatory bodies. The DP has done nothing to rid our government of the Oligarchy’s influence, so maybe a group of ragtag operators might do what previous administrations were too scared to do. I am looking forward to them trying!
The more I read about Kash Patel, the more I am looking forward to his reformation to the FBI, a group of corrupt, over-educated cops who prefer sitting behind a desk speculating about crime instead of preventing crimes and arresting those who commit heinous crimes.
The Oligarchy has always used science when it can benefit financially, but when science interferes with their profit-making, they try to suppress the findings. I expect the Kochs and Musk will do the same thing. Do you honestly think Musk will roll back the scientific advances that have made him a multi-billionaire?
I suspect they will hoard scientific advancements for themselves and chop off the knees of any free press outlet that requests public access to those departments. This group of trump sycophants can eliminate big chunks of Oligarch entanglement in our government, but I suspect they will just replace it with their group of Oligarchic sycophants.
As for the American people (voters), why do they need access to the scientific community when most believe the greatest myth ever created, and belief in that myth prevents them from killing more CEOs? 😉
Lester. This blog is one of the things being done to “keep the country from going Hades way.” And if you doubt the power of words, consider that it was the words of the writers of the Enlightenment that inspired the founding of this country. Words convey thought. Action without thought is chaos. But, even more, writing IS action. If you really thought your words were powerless, you wouldn’t take the actions necessary to participate in this blog.
mark small; the “Reconstruction” post Civil War concentrated on the southern culture and its government, not aiding in the rebuilding of the mass destruction which was only in those southern states. I did typing for a Black male friend who was in college; the only Thesis I remember was his “The Black Matriarchy” which concentrated on the fact that former women slaves were more trusted, needed and taken in for small pay and often bed and board for work they had done as slaves. The Black males were not trusted and plantation owners didn’t have money to hire them back as field workers, causing resentment and a rift between the former slaves and “Reconstruction” didn’t concentrate efforts on aiding the male former slaves gain employment, even once they could read and write. They often resorted to criminal acts to survive. Today; it continues to be the the Blacks and whites living at poverty level who are still the losers and crime rates are high in Black areas. My grandson is currently working as an Environmental Engineer on a multi-million dollar apartment complex in Fulton County, Georgia, with an astronomically high crime rate. His employer warned him not to rent living space in Fulton County because it isn’t safe for anyone. The rich developers, often outsiders, are still “Reconstructing” the south at the expense of Blacks and low income of all.
I lived in Fredricksberg, VA, in 1955 and was appalled at the racism and segregation with hatred still rampant. I lived in Port Richey, FL, 1994-2001, and very little had changed; people remained segregated in most areas of business and socially due to economic levels. This was long past “Reconstruction” and that “removal of troops” did nothing to end the buyout of land and businesses by the northern influx to enrich the already rich, which is ongoing today. The success of “Reconstructing” southern government has brought us to the Trump/Musk presidency and we face “The Cost of Rejecting Reality” and the level of Dictatorship we may need another Revolutionary War to escape.
Sharon – action is louder than words. The community I lead, CommonGoodGoverning, has got our eyes on the April Wisconsin Supreme Court election – it has major consequences for a state not yet bright red or blue.
People who claim to know science by recounting somebody’s opinion from the past that proved wrong don’t know science at all.
Scientific knowledge follows proven measurement technology that supplies inarguable, repeatable, measurement, statistically significant data that overwhelmingly demonstrates Universal cause and effect, which convincingly proves a hypothesis.
Very few people understand the medical research process in America. For Basic Research, which is laboratory science, a researcher can get a grant, do the research, and publish the results. Most people assume that it ends there. It does not! Before that research can be used in a non-lab setting, it must be independently replicated.
If you’ve ever wondered what happened when a researcher got a lot of ink about the results of a study and you never heard another word about it, most likely the research could not be verified.
New drugs and vaccines have to go through multiple trials. The first three phases are progressively larger, as the researchers find out more about their creations. Many of these are multi-site trials.
Through the whole process every adverse event must be reported to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is made up of clinical experts and at least two members of the public, one must be a non scientist. It takes a long time and a is closely monitored. If you’re a researcher you’ve dedicated years of your life, finally produced a proven way to protect the
public from a disease that kills people, but when you take it to the public, they turn their backs and say we don’t trust you. BTW the largest part of the process takes place in your local medical school,funded by a government agency. Big Pharma contracts with the universities or agencies to produce and distribute it.
This process describes MOST of our research system. Big Pharma does a lot of their own research. They use an IRB and they do the same trials, but they don’t allow their staff to follow their hearts. They work on what interests the company, which is often finding new ways to renew patents that they already hold.
Well, Pete, I know Einstein’s dictum about Oligarchy was backed up numerous times, including Marty Gilens from Princeton in 2004. And, nothing has changed since 1949, except our Oligarchy has become even more powerful, and now, it’s in our face politics with billionaires running the government directly and indirectly:
“Most Americans think that public officials don’t care much about the preferences of “people like me.” Sadly, the results presented above suggest they may be right. Whether or not elected officials and other decision-makers “care” about middle-class Americans, influence over actual policy outcomes appears to be reserved almost exclusively for those at the top of the income distribution.” ~ Marty Gilens
https://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/idr.pdf