Covid-19 is the most divisive issue of my lifetime—worse than abortion, “gay rights,” or Trump’s presidency. It cuts across party and ideological lines. The Left may be more inclined to favor mask mandates and vaccine passports, the Right more likely to oppose them, but those are by no means well-defined positions. I’ve been shocked to see many “conservatives” embrace tyranny—all in the name of “safety,” of course.
The question is what to believe—which really comes down to whom to believe. Conflicting information abounds, in our news feeds and social media accounts. People and institutions we trust, or once trusted, tell us contradictory things, sometimes changing their tune from one day to the next. And each side insists it is “following the science.” In this bizarro universe, how are we supposed to distinguish truth from falsehood?
First, we must acknowledge that the truth about this virus and its effects is, at best, difficult to know. New information emerges each day, as those scientists still interested in pursuing truth continue their efforts. Not all scientists are reliable; many seek not truth but affirmation, acclaim, and funding. But some still have integrity, and we should be grateful for them. The problem, of course, is determining which is which. But I’ll get to that in a moment.
Meanwhile, even if we can’t know the full truth about Covid, there are some bedrock truths to which we can hold fast. The first and most important is that there is a God and we are made in His image, with—as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently put it—“certain unalienable rights [including] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” “Unalienable” means no one can take them from us, not even government.
Thus, when government policy encroaches on those rights, or the ones enumerated in the Bill of Rights, we know it is wrong—even if it has the best of intentions. The government has no constitutional authority to close churches, confine well people to their homes, shut down private businesses, or force people to accept an experimental treatment they might not even need. Such policies are unjust and must be resisted, whatever we happen to think about their effectiveness at controlling the virus.
Beyond that, in our quest for truth, there are people we ought to listen to, those we should ignore, and those whose advice we must take with a grain of salt.
In the last category I will put your family doctor along with other medical professionals you know personally, whether friends or family. They certainly have some expertise and should therefore be taken seriously. But that doesn’t mean you should simply do whatever they say.
For one thing, any two of them are likely to disagree. Also, they may or may not have your best interests at heart; they might not know you well or understand your situation. By all means, consider what they tell you, but weigh it carefully. (In my case, for example, when it comes to the vaccines, my healthcare provider is telling me one thing, while the medical professional I trust most—and who knows me best—is telling me the complete opposite.)
I also include, in that first group, the government health apparatus. It’s tempting to put them in group two—ignore altogether—but they have given us some good advice: wash your hands regularly, stay home if you’re sick, get vaccinated if you’re old or obese. However, they have also given us some horrific advice, such as to wear two (or three!) masks, keep healthy children home from school, and vaccinate the young and people with natural immunity. And they have neglected to say things they should have, such as advising people to lose weight and doctors to treat symptoms early with therapeutics.
Like I said—a mixed bag of advice that should all be taken with a grain of salt.
In the second category—those who should be ignored—I first put Meme Guy, who is constantly making supposedly clever (but actually silly) posts on social media. You know, like how Ivermectin is solely a horse-dewormer or Trump said people should inject themselves with bleach. Such contentions are so ignorant, neither they nor their purveyors can be taken seriously.
I also include in this category most of the mainstream media, who have rarely said a true thing about Covid since March 2020. Their motives seem to be a) to advance the Democrat narrative and promote one-party rule; and b) to induce as much fear and thereby drive as many clicks as possible. To say they cannot be trusted is an understatement. In general, if you assume whatever they say is false, you will be right far more often than if you routinely take them at their word.
Which brings us to the first category: people we CAN trust. This consists of a small group of doctors, scientists, and journalists who—unlike their government and MSM counterparts—have been mostly right for the past 18 months. That is something you can check for yourself, as I have been doing. Look at what people say, then compare it to the reality that emerges a few weeks or months later. Those who are consistently right are the ones to listen to. A short list of these folks, taken from my Twitter feed, would include Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Andrew Bostom, Dr. Ryan Cole, Jennifer Cabrera, Phil Kerpen, Daniel Horowitz, and Townhall’s own Scott Morefield.
I also have an affinity for those who have been deplatformed. Perhaps it’s the contrarian in me. I just believe that, as Jefferson also wrote, “it is error alone that needs to the support of government”—to which I would add “Big Tech” as an agent of government. People are usually deplatformed for telling the truth, not for spreading “misinformation,” except as the term is commonly used nowadays to mean “information that contradicts the official narrative.” Those whom government/Big Tech wishes to silence therefore merit special attention. On that list I put el gato malo, Alex Berenson, and Emily Woodhouse, all of whom can be found on Substack.com.
The bottom line is that there are people providing accurate information, as best they can, if you know where to look for them. Some work for the government, but sadly most do not. The government’s priority is the government, not the people. The sooner we accept that reality and learn to think for ourselves, the sooner we will be able to extricate ourselves from this mess.