I certainly got enough personal death threats whenever I tried to warn people they were completely off balance and downright wrong in their assessments of political situations. Living in a Bushie state I would hear some really weird stuff that ran off the cliff and went screaming off the meter when it came to irrational thinking. There are still some of those weirdos on the local shock-talk radio shows, though their numbers are finally dwindling.
This author really makes the point there are isolated individuals who practice denialism. The destructive thing is when the whole herd runs off the cliff like during the Bush years. It's like a mass hypnosis insanity takes hold of people.
Of course, he uses the swine flu vaccine as a case in point. While he promotes everyone to get the vaccine; I have a different take. Assess your risk. If you are pregnant, have small children, have immune system issues or any of the other issues like are under the age of 30, then get the vaccine, especially if you are in crowded situations like schools, day care centers or other large groups. Why any nurse would refuse the vaccine is insane. A nurse is experiencing constant exposure and if you are working in a hospital, even as an office worker, it would be smart to get vaccinated.
One thing is for sure, it's good that some people are waking up to how irrational thinking is so very harmful for the individual as well as the nation. This author frames irrational fearful thinking as harmful to advances in science.
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