I can point
to two different posts where I had specific goals that I was going to get to,
and I am still behind.
I was going
to start writing about my issues with fat, and then I saw a reference to a
book, The Obesity Myth (by Paul Campos), which felt like it would be
very relevant. I was supposed to be working on my facist/authoritarian reading
and my Black History month reading, but okay, one book won't make much
difference to either of those schedules. Then I started reading it.
The
Obesity Myth is an
excellent book, and it definitely fit in with the reading, but there were also
things about how people will ignore facts, and where a fear of contamination
goes along with certain issues. It seemed to relate to another book that I
always intended to get to, The Panic Virus (by Seth Mnookin).
That is
about how autism and vaccinations became associated in people's minds. I knew
that there was a flawed study by a person with a financial stake, but I had not
known about pre-existing vaccine fears, or some of the parental input. Most of
my previous reading on immunizations had focused around flu shots.
Those books
do relate to each other, at least in a sociological/psychological sense, but
they also relate to some thoughts that I have had politically. And I almost
don't want to write this today, because at a later point I believe I am going
to go through and point out the flaws with every political label including
independent voters, so I could be getting ahead of myself here.
It does go
with one of the gardening books. Let me back up.
Some time
ago - when vaccination was in the news - I remember someone talking about this
mindset of purity. Some people have faith that they will eat the best foods and
live the healthiest lifestyle, and that will protect them. They don't need
vaccines.
Except that
they do. One part of Panic Virus relates how a doctor who supports
anti-vax parents tells them not to tell their friends, because we could drop
below the necessary herd immunity levels if everyone did it.
If your
secret to health or financial success or happiness is something that relies on
other people not being able to have it, there are problems. First of all, you
may be selfish and evil, which is worth thinking about. In addition, are you
sure you can make it work?
At the
start of Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, Solomon spends a lot
of time on how the nutritional value of food has decreased due to soil
depletion. The extent to which it has dropped is less in organically grown food,
but it's still a problem; how are you going to fix that?
You can
worry about mercury in vaccines (though thimerasol was never in the MMR shot
and has since been removed from other shots) but you are getting larger amounts
in the air and quite possibly in your food. How are you going to fix that?
Speaking of
things we have good science on, but that some people still refuse to believe,
how are you going to fix global warming? Or bees dying off? Trying to keep your
food uncontaminated and nutritious still assumes that the weather and
pollinators are cooperating. That is not guaranteed.
I'm not
going to spend a lot of time on this now, because I am running late and I am
tired (there will be more on that tomorrow) and I know I will be circling back
to it, but I will say this.
The next
logical step to thinking "I am better than you" is thinking "I
don't need to care about you".
It is
always wrong.
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