I have been mightily discouraged recently in regards to events transpiring around the world, and in particular in my neck of the woods,( namely, Canada and U.S.) To quote a line from my friend, Walter Kish’s blog, “for some decades now, a disturbing trend in the growth of anti-intellectualism has been growing in many Western societies.”
He’s right, no one seems to be listening anymore, and the ones that are, scoff at reasonable arguments; even absolute facts. How can people claim that climate change is not occurring? Icebergs are dropping off in record number, the ocean’s temperatures are rising, reefs are dying, and deforestation is killing species. Scientists are scurrying to create plastic eating microbes and special machines that roam the oceans to collect all our garbage. Just the other day, Brad and I were walking through a park, and the amount of Tim Horton’s coffee cups and plastic water bottles people have simply discarded on the ground was astounding. Why? If I could explain human behavior, I would make a google load of money! We have polluted every inch of our earth, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, we have filled space with our trash too! Now we want to go to Mars and leave crap there!
I have felt some hope with the election of our new Prime Minister. At least he has brought back science, in the hopes that continuing education and exploration will help us discover ways to combat climate change, pollution; perhaps lead to medical breakthroughs. And how about just plain learning something new? God help us! We still need to learn so much!
But, as I began thinking about Walter’s quote, I realized that perhaps “intellectuals,” and so-called “experts,” have caused not only their demise but are the reason we don’t believe what anyone has to say anymore.
Expert: heavy drinking kills brain cells that don’t re-grow – False – brain cells do in fact continue to grow
Expert: the earth is flat – False – the earth is round
Expert: the sun revolves around the earth – False – we revolve around the sun
Expert: humans use only 10% of their brains – False – we use all of our brains
Expert: the universe is slowing down – False – the universe if flying apart, faster and faster
Expert: stress causes ulcers – False – bacteria causes ulcers – H. Pylori to be precise
Expert: bats are blind – False – bats can see
Expert: bloodletting cures illness – False!
Expert: eggs are bad for cholesterol – False!
Expert: a mammogram is required every year – False!
Expert: have a colonoscopy for no reason – False!
I could go on and on. Is it any wonder that we have stopped believing in these so called, “experts?” We used to believe that doctors could cure us, but they aren’t here to cure disease, they are trying to manage it, or cut it out. They work not on fact, but on their best theories, as has been proven time and time again over the centuries.
How many drugs have been approved for the masses only to be recalled at a later date due to safety reasons? When’s the last time you saw a commercial for a drug that didn’t say: may cause bleeding, blindness, vomiting, diarrhea. If you experience a sudden drop in blood pressure that could cause you to go into a coma and die, go to your emergency room right away. How many drugs have “experts” put on the market that have caused death? And they KNOW this could happen. How many drugs aren’t even looked at because they are now in the public domain, and nobody can profit from their use?
We used to be able to trust that Bayer Aspirin did what it said it did and that it wasn’t going to harm us. Can we trust big pharma now?
How about GMO’S? Good? Bad? Some experts say that food has naturally evolved, and it’s no problem. Some of the greatest scientific minds on our planet right now scoff at the idea that genetically modified foods are a problem – Neil deGrasse Tyson being one of them. Other experts are screaming blue murder that we are destroying ourselves with GMO’s.
How can we trust anything that anyone says when we are constantly being lied to about . . . Everything!
As a species, it is clear that we are slow to learn important lessons but too fast at creating technologies,drugs and other things that have detrimental outcomes. We often talk about the fact that life gives each of us lessons that until learned are destined to be repeated. As humankind, we are also given these lessons over and over and over and over again.
War, violence, greed, power. War, violence, greed, power. Is this to be Mankind’s mantra for the rest of time? Perhaps it’s time to look at a completely different model than the one based on a dollar economy. Until money and greed are eliminated, we are destined to repeat these patterns until the end of time. For a new perspective, and yes an idealistic one, I urge you all to watch the feature film entitled, “The Venus Project.”
So, is it any wonder we aren’t listening anymore to reason, logic, or expert opinion? Have we lost all trust in our fellow man, or at least the ones who purportedly seem to be in the know? Most importantly, have we lost hope that there are still learned, honest, kind people who are doing the right thing; telling us the right things? Are we losing the battle against the greedy and powerful? I hope not, but lately, it sure feels like it.