Conspiracy
Or sinspiracy?
Turns out I think a lot of the political commentary in these newsletters will be critiques of the left and mainstream narratives. Ways I think they are ignoring or misunderstanding those of us in the middle. And even those on the right that I think are winnable.
Let me lay out a few thoughts for you:
1. A few weeks ago, some military data was used to show that miscarriages were up 377% or something like that. The military quickly said that it was a mistake - however, as far as I can tell, this has received little to no coverage from mainstream media outlets, so only right wing outlets are covering it and the military took the data offline.
2. Around that same time Hopkins released two studies. One that showed that the lockdowns weren’t very effective and one that showed that natural immunity was better than vaccination - at least for the Delta wave. Obviously for those who haven’t been vaccinated, we’d hope that they’d just get vaccinated, but it does give credence to the thought that previous infection should count as vaccination, something that is antithetical to the current narrative on the virus.
3. Matt Yglesias recently wrote a piece on climate change that everyone should read. If you don’t have time or don’t want to, here’s a summary: climate change is not going to destroy the world. One line in particular that really stood out to me was, “One thing he wants to make very clear is that all the paths, even the hottest ones, show improvements in human well-being on average.” and, stay with me here, that quote is Matt quoting Emma Morris quoting climate scientist Brian O’Neill so it’s credible. Matt’s piece is really good and really well sourced, I highly recommend reading.
4. The summer of 2020 saw widespread protesting and rioting across the United States following the death of George Floyd. Here are some articles I found regarding the aftermath in Minneapolis, the police free zone in Seattle, and the riots in Portland. And to be clear: I specifically did not select these for bias. I searched until I found an article that looked like it covered the events I wanted to see covered, read to make sure they did, and then selected them. Here is an article I read when I first started writing this article regarding the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Canada. I don’t expect anyone to read all four AND I do recognize that I am reading this with my own biases and may be overstating because I also have a very limited sample here. BUT the coverage feels very different. Whereas in the articles surrounding the crazy stuff going down in 2020 were largely focused on the concerns of protesters and organizers (I even saw a video where the reporter talks about the protesters discussing whether arson was okay), the protesters in the “Freedom Convoy” are given just a few paragraphs; most of the coverage is of the effects it has had on the city.
These may seem somewhat disparate, but my point is that for any story there is a narrative that is allowed by elites and there is a narrative that is not. I didn’t finish best picture-nominated Don’t Look Up because it made me mad - because I’ve understood basically forever that while climate change is a threat to the world as we know it, it is not a threat to humanity. So watching a satire that compared an actual world ending event to what will absolutely not be a world ending event was infuriating to me. In my opinion, it’s just not good political commentary. But when I tell people this, they roll their eyes1.
In 2020, the protests following the death of George Floyd that often turned violent - across the country I might add - were routinely called “mostly-peaceful protests” by nearly all of the mainstream media, yet the same could be true of both the insurrection at the Capitol and these truckers in Canada. I don’t often make this point about the insurrection because it was a difference in kind, not degree and therefore really doesn’t deserve to be defended. However, the criticism is still valid.
MLK called riots “the language of the unheard.” But we don’t get to decide who is feeling unheard and we shouldn’t criticize them for feeling unheard. Our job is to listen, learn, compromise, educate when possible, and when lies are being told, hold the people telling those lies accountable. Our job is not to constantly tell people that they’re wrong. And just to be clear, I do think these truckers should get vaccinated and I also think Joe Biden won the Presidency and consider January 6th to be one of the saddest days in our country’s history. I’m just sick of people that I know and love being looked down on because they make different choices - choices that I often consider wrong.
Arthur Brooks talks about the need in America not to disagree less, but to disagree better and I think this is a perfect example of that. Nobody wins when people hate each other and nobody is convinced when constantly berated or ignored because they’re making choices others disagree with. Again, not pro-the motivations of the “Freedom Convoy.” However, Trudeau hasn’t even made an attempt to listen to these people or make them feel heard. Instead he’s mostly ignored them, talked down to them, talked badly about them, and has done everything in his power to remove them by force. And this in a country with a vaccination rate well above 75%, meaning that these truckers pose a negligible risk to themselves or others.
I was shut down just a couple weeks ago when trying to say that previous infection should be counted as vaccination. Was told that wasn’t factual, that natural immunity doesn’t last, etc. But clearly there’s at least some smart people who understand the data. Anti-vaxers have been saying forever that the vaccine messes with fertility and then when it appears that there’s literal evidence in a military database backing up this fact, all of the data is taken offline and it’s swept under the rug. That should be covered! The military made a mistake that validated the fears of anti-vaxers. It’s a crazy coincidence, but it happened! Responsible journalists everywhere should be saying to themselves “Holy crap, how did this happen” but instead we look down on these people who believe these false claims about fertility and say “Take off your tin foil hat and get in line.”
The people in this country don’t need you to tell them that you believe in science or parrot a line you heard from your favorite politician or pundit, they needs you to exhibit a little more love for your fellow countryman and a lot more humility. Because to believe in science is to believe in a framework for discovering facts, a framework that can take a meandering path to get at those facts and facts that often change. I’ll be the first to admit that when it comes to political opinions, everyone but me and those who agree with me are wrong. I do not practice what I’m preaching. But I’m trying to, and that’s what brought me to this place. I recently decided to have compassion on those I disagree with and I’ve found myself defending them, publicly - not because I agree with them, but because I recognize that I might be wrong about many things I believe and I hope that others show me the same dignity and respect I’m trying to show my fellow Americans. The whole of America is more than the sum of its parts, but only if we see ourselves as Americans above Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, patriots, or socialists.
I’ll actually concede that they may have a point here. Like it’s ridiculous that I won’t watch a movie because I don’t agree with the premise. I watched Vice and I don’t think Dick Cheney is nearly what they portrayed him there. I actually really liked Vice.