The Parallel Nature of Health Sciences, Politics and Entertainment.
This is a Response to The Guardians’ Article: The CDC is beholden to corporations and lost our trust. We need to start our own
The People's CDC. See here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/03/peoples-cdc-covid-guidelines
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and … declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
In seven-teen seventy-six, almost two hundred and fifty years ago the Continental Congress of the then thirteen States of America supplied a declaration of separation from England.
The eery but undeniable similarity between the Declaration of Independence and an article released in the Guardian on April 3, 2022, supplied such a familiar cascade of events that they begged to be illuminated.
The article, entitled, The CDC is beholden to corporations and lost our trust. We need to start our own – The People’s CDC (Walensky, R., 2022), represented the voice of at least sixteen (16) people describing themselves as “epidemiologists, nurses and physicians, artists and biologists”, and it presented a stark juxtaposition to the fifty-six (56) signees on the U.S.’ Declaration. (Walensky, 2022, & Colemen 2019).
Reading the article, besides the literal language, one could feel the energy of mutiny and sense the weirdness of conflict, not between enemies in opposition, but instead, between bothers of the same cloth. And yes, that is the part that makes the article more potent in its impact. The fact that other health and science professionals are presenting evidence to justify their reasons for separation from other health and science professionals, is troubling.
Should not all health scientists be able to see the same data and come to at least a similar conclusion? Is that not the point of P-values? Where are our uniform scientific approaches and evidence now?
More disturbing, is idea that maybe we are not seeing a disagreement of the science but rather a departure from responsibility.
The idea that the 16 healthcare stakeholders responsible for the article felt that their observations, analysis, and conclusions potentially represented a great many more healthcare professionals, patients, and other stakeholder types, begged to be discussed further.
There is a rift in the body of scientists, and this is particularly worrisome, as we are, still, contrary to the suggestions of the CDC, grappling with the COVID pandemic. Oh, wait, less I forget, who were the authors of the article talking to when they suggested “we need to start our own (CDC)?” The people, the citizens of the U.S.? The same population that is split politically and in almost every other facet of our existence. Those people are the “we” the authors are referring too?
Agree with the authors or not, starting “our own CDC” will not be as simple as pointing out corruption and replacing leadership. Nor will it be as simple as moving forward as a public body drifting from the CDC. When, aside from the 3 days post September 11, 2001, has America been that aligned on anything? Let’s look a bit deeper.
Central to the rebel rousing is the claim that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has “sold out” to the corporations. With a claim like that, the management of COVID becomes just an example to illustrate and justify their claim that another CDC body should be formed.
The article makes a couple reverberating points as well as a few less than straightforward suggestions.
For example, clearly, the CDC’s shift from a red map to a green map effectively portraying a less severe disease condition most certainly would cause people to relax not only their social interactions but also their mental view of the threat of COVID. This may be considered less than straight forward, but in the end, after one considers the details closely, they should agree that this is terrible thing.
Scientific literature blatantly recommends the installation and maintenance of “old style public health measures” i.e., social distancing, masks and such (Wilder-Smith, 2020). Encouraging the public to assume a less dire view of the disease is not scientifically sound.
But how are businesses to survive when they cannot open, operate and sale their products and services? Well, the bigger question is, where are Americans on the topic of human lives versus commerce (loaded question)? Consider this -
As political leaders agreed on language as preamble and justification to separatist actions decades ago, so are modern scientists, today, demanding a stronger commitment to the field of evidence, morality, and a version of evolved science - one managed by descent principles and morality.
The Declaration of Independence was more than a statement of the U.S’. political departure from England, it was an example of a natural event that occurs under circumstances where there is misalignment, under representation and exclusion between human populations.
American society and in some case the world at large has shown that they celebrate corruption and immorality. Consider these:
Will Smith, an American entertainment celebrity, publicly assaults Chris Rock (another American entertainment celebrity) on a stage in front of millions … and did not go to jail. Assault is supposed to be against the law in America.
Facebook. Conceived out of controversy.
Nobel Prize winners receiving recognition after conducting, known human atrocities.
Current Russian invasion.
United States inability to or disinterest in, stopping the public murders of its Black and minority citizens by the hands of its law enforcers and departments.
Statues memorializing people who portrayed large scale human tragedies.
Election of Presidents and political leaders with low moral character.
Now, just because a body like the CDC is beholden to corporations, we want to hoist that up, claim them unfit and start another organization?In a just government, there should be fundamental concepts of civility, probable cause, justice, and surely founded evidence, which enable mass cohesiveness, cooperation while limiting exploitation. As one might expect these concepts are closely watched; especially within the major aspects of society such as finance & banking, education, entertainment, and … you guessed it… healthcare.
So, it should come as no surprise that a group of healthcare professionals have assembled to dethrone the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Because, according to them, and others, the CDC no longer holds the interests of the people as its priority.
While there is little commonality between American healthcare systems and that of the UK, the
The mutiny against the CDC is no less dissimilar than America’s separation from England. Just as a group of English people sought separation, so is a group of medical professionals seeking separation from the current CDC.
You, “epidemiologists and physicians, artists and biologists” are heroes. Keep fighting for what is right because if WE do not hold these organizations accountable, the innocent, the poor, the vulnerable, and descent people like Chris Rock, will have to shoulder the burden of taking the high road and continue to just take the slap in the face.
References
Colemen, A., (2019). These are the 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence. USA TODAY. Money. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/03/july-4th-the-56-people-who-signed-the-declaration-of-independence/39636971/
Walensky, R., (2022). The CDC is beholden to corporations and lost our trust. We need to start our own | The People's CDC. The Guardian for 200 Years. Opinion US News. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/03/peoples-cdc-covid-guidelines?CMP=share_btn_link
Wilder-Smith, A., & Freedman, D. O. (2020). Isolation, quarantine, social distancing and community containment: pivotal role for old-style public health measures in the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. Journal of travel medicine, 27(2), taaa020. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa020