Make America Scientific Again - MASA
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P.C Vey “ I’m so fortunate to live in a world with so much disinformation at my fingertips”
Happy Tuesday Healthcare Advocates
I would like to encourage comments and suggestions from you if you have time. If there is a special topic you’d like to see please let me know. Please use the comment button below. Some of the topics in work are funding for key medical research, rural healthcare, and healthcare in prison.
MASA (Make America Scientific Again)
I have been reading about how politics in the US has changed over the years, Over and Over again I find references to people choosing not to believe experts. There is a price for not accepting scientific fact. We all know that so many people who chose not to be vaccinated against COVID-19 created bedlam in hospitals, dying at a high rate and taking spaces away from people with other critical health issues. We lost friends who could not be appropriately treated because hospitals were so over loaded.
Here is a news article that highlights two studies related to health and politics. In one study, researchers concluded that people living in more conservative parts of the United States disproportionately bore the burden of illness and death linked to covid-19. The other, which looked at health outcomes more broadly, found that the more conservative a state’s policies, the shorter the lives of working-age people.
And if that weren’t enough Yale University researchers found that registered Republicans had a higher rate of excess deaths than Democrats in the months following when vaccines became available for all adults in April 2021. The study does not directly attribute the deaths to covid-19. Instead, excess mortality refers to the overall rate of deaths exceeding what would be expected from historical trends.
It is high time to trust facts and data and stop casting shade or repeating conspiracy based lies, because “You Can’t Make Me” or I Don’t Have To”. The cost to ignore reality is high and dangerous, for those who do it and for those around them.
Gun Violence - Congress vs US
The current Congress is not representing the American people who elected them. Here’s how I know. We wrote about gun violence being the leading cause of death in the US for those up to 19. More than car crashes, cancer, everything. Now a new poll released yesterday shows that 80% of Americans want stronger universal background checks for gun owners. Nearly three-quarters support Congress requiring gun owners to take a test, obtain a license and register their firearms, similar to the process of owning an automobile. And a majority want an assault weapons ban.
ACTION
Let’s call or write our Congressperson and Senators and tell them to stop ignoring the will of 80% of the population and implement universal background checks. While they are at it make owners be licensed and take a test to prove competence and ban assault weapons. Their contact information is in the Resource Section at the end of this newsletter.
Find My Elected Officials
Contact the White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact State and Federal Representatives
https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/
Important Healthcare Resources
League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit
Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare
Healthcare Advocacy Reading List
Organizations to Contact
National Nurses United Medicare4All
Physicians for a National Health Plan
Reproductive Health
NARAL - Pro Choice America
Planned Parenthood
Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.
United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.
Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Save Democracy
Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens
RESISTBOT
Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more
Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water Resistbot write up
Why has such a large number of people bought into conspiracy theories and turned against science? There are so many reasons, and forgive me for missing some of the subtleties or causes as I write this on the fly.
When someone says, "you can't make me," and is scared and angry and has bought into the MAGA media machine -- and when they correctly believe that the system has been rigged against them, they don't want to be told what to do.
But a public health crisis that is killing people requires expert advice and mandates to prevent huge losses of life. Unfortunately, we had the worst possible president in office. It was more important for him to use the fear and anger to political advantage, because he doesn't care about anyone else. The MAGA media machine swung into full gear and promoted BS that raised their revenues and their political support.
Cynical leaders who value power over anything else challenge any legitimate expert authority. Over the years, corrupted leaders have taken down the guardrails by deregulating media ownership and political spending, so we do have a conspiracy among would-be oligarchs. Sometimes even Democrats supported this to try to find a middle ground with corporate America. Unfortunately, power corrupts and many of them lined their pockets or their campaign war chests. So they failed to lead and allowed the guard rails to come down.
Sowing distrust in expertise is a key element in the authoritarian playbook. And we do live in hard times that are becoming more intense with climate change and the advances in weaponry and AI. Large parts of the global population struggle to survive or to create a stable life for themselves and their families. They are too busy to pay attention to what their leaders are doing and only seek safety. And failed states breed tyrants and warlords. We see it in Russia with Putin and Prighozin.
So back to today's newsletter, Alan. How do you appeal to those who aren't able to trust expertise and who resist being told what to do because they have succumbed to right-wing propaganda? I keep coming back to engaging voters to unite behind leaders who are public servants and who support democracy. Be careful with mandated regulation and more red tape when education and opportunity are also needed so that more people buy in to what's recommended. But again, we'll need to elect leaders who defend democracy.
Considering human history, these issues are perennial. How do we balance mandates with freedom? What expertise do we trust and why? Who can be reached and who is too busy struggling and is scared or angered into supporting those who work against their best interests?