One of the remarkable features of these Covid years is the amount of misleading and downright false information emitted by “official” sources, most notably public health authorities, government-appointed regulators, and mainstream media. A part of me hankers after the times when I could trust my government and media in a time of crisis. But if I am honest with myself, I have to admit that I’d prefer to live uncomfortably in the truth than comfortably in a fantasy built for me by someone who does not have my best interests at heart.
Quite good statement of our circumstances. I sometimes think that the Pandemic was almost a confessional act. Hard core criticism of our government(s) has been easily crushed by marginalization of dissent in recent years and decades and COVID feels like an institutional guilty confession - almost as if government authorities goaded themselves into seeing exactly how much they could get away with.
Great summary of the worst mistakes made by "authorities" in science and government around the world. Most of these "authorities" are still in positions of power and seem to have learned virtually nothing from their serious follies.
What have they learnt from the abysmal failures of their pandemic policies? For now, very little, though a few public figures have come out and acknowledged the policies were a big mistake. I believe secretly, there is an increasing awareness that full-on lockdowns are a failed policy, and I doubt we will return to that anytime soon, though medical coercion may well be repeated if there is not serious public resistance to it.
“A part of me hankers after the times when I could trust my government and media in a time of crisis.”
There’s not been such a time. At least in my memory, which goes back to “Vietnam”. The lies and distortions have been relentless and the “news” has always been propaganda, to a greater or lesser degree.
Great post, Thank you. I have never been a great fan of orthodoxy.... and eventually, after a very, very long time, I've written about the psychological and philosophical reasons why it is bound, in the long run, to be erroneous https://www.hughwillbourn.com/book
Some of us never automatically trusted those in official positions of power. That said, I cannot imagine that before 2020 and the great plandemic that many rational people believed that 6 feet would stop transmission of an upper respiratory virus such as the cold or the flu, that viruses only attacked people as they walked from the door to their table, that lightly used parks and beeches were unhygienic, but city streets with masses of of screeching lunatics were safe from spread, that a vaccine could be safely developed and tested in less than a year, that shutting down wide swaths of the economy for even a few weeks would come without severe consequences, let alone months and years, that keeping kids faces hidden would not cause them language skill degradation or preventing them from going to school would not cause both learning loss and emotional harms.
No, these things were widely known, and it is not the dearth of trustable experts that is really destructive to our society, but instead, it the ease by which rational people with reasonable common sense would throw it all away so easily and jump on board the totalitarianism that experts recommended. And first among all, Trump is the most culpable for ignoring common sense and jumping on board the totalitarianism ride. TrumpWhiteHouse '15 days to slow the spread'.
He never returned to his old MAGA self after March 16, 2020. The rest of his time in office he remained on the side of the totalitarians. It is a pity really, because by October of 2019 he had finally won my trust, only to throw it all away a few short months later.
Thanks David. Great post as always!
Thanks Andy!
I saw through all the insanity from day one. I am just an outcast where I live.
Excellent piece David. One could say Covid ended trust in officialdom for those who were prepared to think for themselves.
Thanks Liam! Indeed!
Quite good statement of our circumstances. I sometimes think that the Pandemic was almost a confessional act. Hard core criticism of our government(s) has been easily crushed by marginalization of dissent in recent years and decades and COVID feels like an institutional guilty confession - almost as if government authorities goaded themselves into seeing exactly how much they could get away with.
Great summary of the worst mistakes made by "authorities" in science and government around the world. Most of these "authorities" are still in positions of power and seem to have learned virtually nothing from their serious follies.
What have they learnt from the abysmal failures of their pandemic policies? For now, very little, though a few public figures have come out and acknowledged the policies were a big mistake. I believe secretly, there is an increasing awareness that full-on lockdowns are a failed policy, and I doubt we will return to that anytime soon, though medical coercion may well be repeated if there is not serious public resistance to it.
Great points, all. Glad I found you. I will be dumping a few subs I have that ifound useless,and pay for intelligence instead.
Thanks!
“A part of me hankers after the times when I could trust my government and media in a time of crisis.”
There’s not been such a time. At least in my memory, which goes back to “Vietnam”. The lies and distortions have been relentless and the “news” has always been propaganda, to a greater or lesser degree.
You may be right.. but I think there have been better times than right now. At least on issues of health.
When will they be punished?
Great post, Thank you. I have never been a great fan of orthodoxy.... and eventually, after a very, very long time, I've written about the psychological and philosophical reasons why it is bound, in the long run, to be erroneous https://www.hughwillbourn.com/book
Some of us never automatically trusted those in official positions of power. That said, I cannot imagine that before 2020 and the great plandemic that many rational people believed that 6 feet would stop transmission of an upper respiratory virus such as the cold or the flu, that viruses only attacked people as they walked from the door to their table, that lightly used parks and beeches were unhygienic, but city streets with masses of of screeching lunatics were safe from spread, that a vaccine could be safely developed and tested in less than a year, that shutting down wide swaths of the economy for even a few weeks would come without severe consequences, let alone months and years, that keeping kids faces hidden would not cause them language skill degradation or preventing them from going to school would not cause both learning loss and emotional harms.
No, these things were widely known, and it is not the dearth of trustable experts that is really destructive to our society, but instead, it the ease by which rational people with reasonable common sense would throw it all away so easily and jump on board the totalitarianism that experts recommended. And first among all, Trump is the most culpable for ignoring common sense and jumping on board the totalitarianism ride. TrumpWhiteHouse '15 days to slow the spread'.
He never returned to his old MAGA self after March 16, 2020. The rest of his time in office he remained on the side of the totalitarians. It is a pity really, because by October of 2019 he had finally won my trust, only to throw it all away a few short months later.