Despite what Uncle Sam, Facebook, and CNN would like you to believe, life does not always present you with binary choices. You do not have to be a Democrat or a Republican. Defunding the police is not the only alternative to blindly supporting their every act. Every American does not have to choose between being a White Supremacist or a proponent of CRT. Whenever the talking heads present us with a binary choice, a classic coercive strategy, we must remember that there is a third way.
This is, perhaps, nowhere more apparent today than in how we view the medical community. Support the medical establishment, we are told, or reject modern medicine wholesale. Mask up and get the jab, they say, or you're a science-denier. Those are the options with which we are presented, but mindless self-reliance and mindless reliance upon the experts are not the only two choices we have. There is a third way, namely, one that does not include being mindless.
On the one hand, it is prudent to appreciate the technological advances that medical science has made. Foolish pride alone would prevent us from utilizing, as necessary, the appropriate medicines, procedures, and therapies that modern medicine has to offer.
On the other hand, we should recognize that medical tyranny has been a prominent feature in the fascist regimes of the 20th and 21st centuries, and this fact should at least cause us to pause when we are told that we are science deniers for criticizing the medical establishment.
On the one hand, it is only fair to affirm that many, if not most, medical professionals are hardworking individuals who are generally well-intentioned.
On the other hand, it is wise to remember that experts, in the medical field no less than in any other discipline, are human beings, which means that they are liable to the same weaknesses (finitude, greed, pride, tribalism, laziness, etc.) as the rest of us.
On the one hand, it is silly to deny that our medical experts are put through years of intensive, expensive training, making many sacrifices along the way that most people are not willing to make.
On the other hand, we should also remember that all medical professionals have been trained within a system, and systems often resist change.
All of these statements can be affirmed simultaneously without any inherent self-contradiction. Anyone who insists or implies otherwise is trying to control you or sell you something (probably both). You are not small-minded if you reject their binary landscape of this issue. You are small-minded if you mindlessly select from the two extreme philosophical options they present you. Don't be afraid of nuance. Don't be ashamed of balance.
As a bit of an aside, we should generally be wary of this concept of elite, unquestionable experts, whether in medicine, law/politics, science (a generic term that is mostly worthless), etc. This idea is dangerous and has historically not ended well for the masses. If we agree about only one thing, let it be this: it is not wrong to question the experts.
True experts, after all, will not resent being questioned. True experts, whatever their expertise may be, recognize that science is a process, not a consensus. We should avoid any expert who insists that the science is settled and should not be questioned. Continuous assertions, verifications, modifications, and reworkings are staples of every field of study. We can be confident that the experts of the next century will view our experts with playful derision, even as they appreciate the contributions that they made to their fields.
The bottom line is that we are all in control of our own personal health and that of our families. No one, not even the most compassionate doctor in the world, is responsible for your health. We must ignore the dirty looks and hurled epithets and do what we believe is best for those under our own roofs.
We have been blessed to live in the Age of Information, and this gift comes with the responsibility to educate ourselves as thoroughly as possible so that we can make the wisest choices possible. This means that we should utilize all the resources at our disposal, which certainly include public policies and private practitioners, but also includes tools like the Internet. The information superhighway contains much misinformation, to be sure, but it also offers the opportunity to learn everything about anything. Fields of study that were formerly esoteric fraternities are now literally open books.
True experts will not resent this fact, but will embrace the way the world now disseminates information, doing everything they can to empower people to make the best choices. Those of us who are average citizens will, if we are wise, appreciate the experts and the arduous paths they have taken to advance in their fields, without idolizing them or blindly following their dictates.
So, perhaps we are presented with a binary choice, after all. If we as a culture refuse to take personal responsibility for our health, education, finances, etc., we will be forced to live under the tyranny of the experts.
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