Replacing Science With Fantasy

AMONG AMERICANS, science has fallen into disfavor. we much prefer fantasy. Maybe we are afraid of science because we fear it will reveal truths about us we would rather not accept, or because we find science too complicated, too unwilling to conform to our prejudices and deeply entrenched beliefs about the world, and our place in it. We cannot ignore science, try though we might. however long it takes, whatever the effort required, science at length yields definitive, tangible, verifiable results. And that is precisely the problem. We Americans are very fond of out personal o pinions, we elevate them to the realm of fact, and are reluctant to surrender them no matter how strong the evidence indicates that we should. We are entitled, so we seem to think, to our own facts as well as opinions, and when facts prove inconvenient to cherished opinion, we turn to alternative facts. Exhaustive scientific analysis, repeatedly confirmed, has proved conclusively, for instance, that genetically modified food is perfectly safe to eat. In fact, genetically modified organisms have been used to produce effective medications and vaccines. And yet, so many Americans accept the myth that GMOs are harmful that much packaging assures consumers that the contents are GMO free. Vaccines, which have been used for centuries, have been saved millions of lives for decades. In 1998 an English doctor noticed that several autistic children had been vaccinated, and erroneously concluded that vaccinations greatly increase the instance of autism spectrum development, although this "finding" was quickly discredited by further research, and the doctor responsible for the misinformation lost his license to practice, the cow was out of the barn. Celebrity jenny Mccarthy publicized the false vaccine-autism connection, turning it into a personal crusade against vaccinations. Millions of credulous Americans believed her. why not? Isn't she a celebrity, a famous person, and doesn't that make her an expert, her statements beyond reproach? Vaccination rates sharply declined, and diseases which had virtually eradicated began reappeared. In the United States of amnesia, we replace facts meticulously discerned by true experts with our personal opinions, or the opinions of glamorous people we wee on television. And we leave it at that. In the United States of Arrogance, everyone can be his or her own authority. climate can become a hoax, racism can vanish by pretending that it no longer exists, and we can eliminate all threats to our personal safety merely by well arming ourselves with firearms. Welcome to the American fantasyland, where anything is possible and nothing exists unless we want it to.