One of the greatest tragedies of our modern era is the nearly complete and total collapse of what is often called "institutional credibility." In other words, people don't trust the "experts" or the institutions they run, from economic to political, academic to ideological, foreign policy to law enforcement, media to medical.
Prevailing sentiment, often exacerbated by activists on both ends of society's philosophical spectrum, is that:
- The CIA and FBI are infiltrated by nefarious operatives part of a deep state cabal
- The Federal Reserve and other monetary agencies are corrupt entities attempting to manipulate markets to the benefit of select groups
- Colleges and universities are aggressively anti-academic environments, dedicated to creating activist drones rather than deep thinkers
- Churches and religious organizations are self-serving, patriarchal hotbeds of misogyny and homophobia
- Media has become little more than exploitative, for-profit propaganda networks
- Medical expertise has been exchanged for pop culture trend chasing
The degree of truth in each of those common beliefs is perhaps less important than this reality: collectively, those perspectives are so widespread, so culturally endemic, that the consequences to our civil society will be far from trivial. It may truly be the most underreported and under-analyzed story facing Western Civilization.
While news headlines and talking heads meticulously debate the morality of those who refuse to get a COVID vaccine or wear a thin, porous piece of fabric over their mouths between bites, little if any time is given to why those people are so unwilling – they thoroughly distrust and despise the experts telling them to do it. The public finds them flagrantly disingenuous, willfully dishonest, and motivated completely by politics.
And not without cause. Consider the most recent example:
Notice that recommendation doesn't say that "gender" should be removed. As much as I hesitate to play the silly semantic game of the sexual revolutionaries who pretend that a designation like gender can be torn free of its biological anchor to flap in the breeze of subjective emotionalism, that isn't even what the AMA is demanding here. They are positing that "sex" – a term for which there is no ambiguity about its definition or grounding in biological certainty – should be eliminated from birth certificates.
While there are plenty of legitimate, legal, moral, and even medical reasons why this is a terrible proposition, focus instead on the alternative justification. Why is the AMA proposing this radical nonsense in the first place? The group's rationale has nothing to do with biology, physiology, or medicine. It has everything to do with politics. The transgender movement has duped the modern progressive culture by using its own impertinent logic against it:
"love has no gender"
"don't be afraid to show off your true colors"
"it takes courage to grow up and be who you really are"
"your body does not define you"
"gender equality is a human issue"
"it's not about bathrooms…as it was never about water fountains"
Intellectually paralyzing progressives with their own hyper-emotional appeals that have been used effectively for decades against conservatives, the sexual revolutionaries hold the left hostage. They hijack the public narrative through progressive-controlled entities (academia, media, entertainment) to the point where legitimate science-based operations like the country's largest collective of medical professionals is publicly spouting gallingly anti-science slogans out of fear they would otherwise be labeled "transphobic."
Of course, there is a deeper spiritual rot at issue here. When truth is lacking, power politics will fill the void every time. But it's probably wise to take all this incrementally, starting here:
- The reason people don't trust academics anymore is because they have proven they will choose their preferred politics over reality.
- The reason people don't trust journalists anymore is because they have proven they will choose their preferred politics over truth.
- The reason people don't trust governing authorities anymore is because they have proven they will choose their preferred politics over fairness.
- The reason people don't trust medical experts anymore is because they have proven they will choose their preferred politics over science.
So then, let's be clear. The loss of trust between the people and public institutions is not the fault of the people. We didn't choose this. No, blame rests completely on the shoulders of those who have betrayed their charge by choosing self-indulgent political agendas that lead to real world consequences.
As much as this may sting the pride of the professional class, it needs to be understood. Don't expect people to trust you to inject a brand-new vaccine into their body when you can't even look them in the eye and affirm a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl.
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