“Even When the experts all agree, they may well be mistaken.”
— Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970
We are angered and saddened by suggestions of late on Facebook that we are: stupid, crazy, and potentially child-abusers. Many have proposed that our kids shouldn’t be allowed to see other kids or be able to attend public schools.
These judgments are by people who would claim otherwise to be friends. We’ve known many of them for decades. We’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with some of these folks on common goals for the common good. But they don’t hesitate to imply that we are awful, dangerous people for not readily accepting everything they proclaim as fundamental truth.
Who put you in charge?
All of this is because we have the audacity to suggest that everything Science tells us about vaccinations might not be stuff we choose to wholeheartedly accept.
We’re not even saying Science is wrong. It could be totally right, and we could still choose not to do it anyway. People are allowed to make all sorts of decisions for themselves these days. Ain’t that something else?
Science has proven that eating meat is harmful. It is fact that smoking is unhealthy. We know that science has shown too much TV or electronics for children is bad. Science tells us exercise is critical to living longer and healthier. But many, many people pick and choose through all of these scientific facts to find what works best in their family, or for them individually.
At the end of the day, everything boils down to the choices we make. Are some people really suggesting no one should be able to make a choice, no matter how significant? Consider abortion, or cancer treatment, or end of life decisions. We embrace everyone’s ability to make these choices, even when we ultimately disagree with their decision .
Think about how the value of pi has changed over time. Science said it was one thing for centuries and then Science declared the value was something else. Examine how Science proclaimed for hundreds of years that nothing could travel faster than sound. Ummm. Oh yeah…except for light. So now light is the fastest. Until we find, you know, whatever goes faster.
There are no Permanent Irrefutable Facts in the universe. Demanding that your Science position is Right and could never possibly be wrong is not very sciencey.
We aren’t suggesting you shouldn’t share your beliefs. We only request that you stop bullying and degrading everyone that dares to think differently. It is entirely counterproductive to intelligent debate.