INTENTIONAL ERRORS
1. Nature has this headline: “Five years of COVID vaccines: how a breakthrough created a public-health crisis.”
Unfortunately, they misidentified the issue on purpose. They say that the “messaging” about the COVID vaccine caused some people to move away from vaccines altogether. The article claims that those who had the most accurate data should have been the loudest voices. However, I remember those years quite well and those who DID have the most accurate data WERE the loudest voices … and they “mislead” America (I avoided the word “lied” there, but when you know the truth but tell the untruth it is not unintentional).
a. They misidentified the COVID shot as a “vaccine.” It isn’t. It is a shot which reduces likelihood of severe symptoms if you get the infection. A vaccine eliminates the risk of infection altogether for a high percentage of those who get the shot. In that way it is exactly like the flu shot. The flu shot also isn’t a vaccine, it is a symptom reducer. Two different animals!
b. They misidentified the “message” that was given. I remember Fauci and others claiming it was a “prevention” for COVID. It wasn’t and isn’t. The strongest voices were saying that it would totally prevent the infection. Other voices which proclaimed doubts about the “message” were silenced on public forums and places that previously had allowed opinions. The strongest voices claimed their message was based on SCIENCE. (Do you remember?)
c. They misidentified the results (that being that some have backed away from all vaccines). What is an adult? An adult LEARNS and when someone lies to them they no longer trust. That is being a logical adult (seriously, it is changing who you trust when someone proves unreliable). The government, the CDC, and the medical community lied, they abused those who disagreed, they insisted that government workers, nurses, and others HAD to get the shot to “stop the spread” of the virus. But it didn’t slow the spread. Many who got the shot also got the virus. Others who got the shot experienced nasty side effects. It turned out that the BEST resistance to the virus was among those who had previously been infected with the virus and the WORST resistance was among those who had only gotten the shots.
d. They misidentified what created the public health crisis. It isn’t the people with a declining trust in childhood vaccines who are the cause. That is the reaction to the misinformation spread by those in authority. They are merely doing what any adult would do. Those who created the crisis are those who lied. Adults learn to not trust liars. As a result of the lies, people became wary of all vaccines. I haven’t. That being said, I know that the government and medical communities lied about the flu shot for over 70 years. The medical community finally owned up to that in order to encourage people to get the COVID shot. It was too late. It is important to tell the truth ALL the time.
When you intentionally mislead the population there are knowable results. The population will lose trust not only in you as a leader, but also in the message. Lack of truth has natural consequences. How do you restore trust? You can’t just begin telling the truth, you have to own your lies. The problem is that none did. They still aren’t doing that. Natural consequence = distrust.
I didn’t bring up the intentional error, they did.
2. TIME has this headline: “Why Young People are Struggling to Communicate.”
In the article the authors write, “We’ve been worried about adolescents’ diminishing writing and speaking skills for years. Lately, we have noticed that these skills are eroding at an accelerating rate, month-over-month …. And, while teenagers today are the most connected generation in history, they are also the least prepared to communicate with depth, confidence, and empathy.”
It would be an interesting article, I guess, except for an AI Assistant box which hovers directly over the text continually UNLESS one types a question. Except I have no desire or need to communicate with AI. But AI “insists” on being there, on being “helpful,” on being obnoxious. Why can’t teens communicate? I’m thinking AI is getting in their way. What do you think??
I read about a similar problem in a California school district. Students were going backward in their studies AFTER they were given school purchased electronic pads. One student went from A/B grades in math to F grades following the “gift.” The problem was that the pads had no restrictions, no filters. Students could go to gaming sites, porn sites, any site they wanted without any adult supervision. Of course they’d rather play a game or talk to friends online than do the hard work. DUH! It is the animals in charge of the zoo.
Parenthetically, they did that in our local school, too. Every parent had to sign a form that “we” would be responsible for our child’s content at school. I asked, “Can I drop in any time I want to see what content my son is viewing?” You can imagine their response. I couldn’t sign. I think many parents refused to sign. They were trying to cover their ______, but it was illogical. They needed a school-wide filter program. Teachers and staff needed the filters, too.
I didn’t bring up the intentional error, they did.
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
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