Pandemic! Pandemic! Facebook Post 2020 06 17
Pandemic! Pandemic!
They cried out in the crowded theater, “Fire! Fire!” But there was no fire. It is not illegal to falsely cry, “Fire!” You may get arrested for something else, like creating a panic, or sued by someone injured in the panic, but it is free speech.
Pandemic! Pandemic!
It is OK to falsely cry, “Pandemic!” even when there is no pandemic. This is also free speech.
In 1919, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes condemned the act of falsely yelling “Fire!” He wrote, “‘The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.’” He changed his mind in a case later that term. The Atlantic
Pandemic! Pandemic!
Holmes and the Court ruled against crying “Fire!” (actually, the accused had written a pamphlet opposing the World War I draft), but it was overturned decades later. It is legal to falsely yell, “Fire!”
When Holmes changed his mind in another case that same term, he wrote, “‘The ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas -- that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out.’” (The Atlantic article again)
The cure for a false claim, like “Pandemic!” is simply to allow the resounding truth of the issue to express itself.
Of course, that means that there has to be a media outlet available for the truth.
“Pandemic! Pandemic!”
That headline sells much better than, “All is well!”
Besides, the medianites have been crying about the horrid projections (2.2 million dead in America!). But the numbers aren’t there, social distancing or open economy, even with the new math.
Cholesterol! Cholesterol!
The theory that high cholesterol causes coronary arterial disease is dead after roughly 50 years, during which this false theory governed dietary guidelines and enriched pharmaceutical manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Cholesterol is made by the body, required for every new cell, for repair of cells, sex hormones, heart protective CO-Q10, etc.
In a few decades this might be publicly acknowledged.
Plaque! Plaque!
And the theory that amyloid plaque in the brain is the cause of Alzheimer’s seems to have derailed research for 25 years. The plaque actually is a protective function, encasing metals, bacteria, etc. that have breached the blood brain barrier.
In a few decades this might be publicly acknowledged.
Pandemic! Pandemic!
What if viruses are like cholesterol, amyloid plaque, and bacteria (our indispensable microbiome!) and serve a positive purpose?
It has taken over a century to acknowledge that the great majority of bacteria within us are helpful or neutral. The harmful ones are by far the minority and take advantage of weaknesses allowing them entry.
We also need the virome that exists within us, just as we need the bacterial microbiome. Viruses, like the bacteria, existed before us and will exist beyond us. We have grown up with both of them, and they are integral to our existence.
In a few decades this might be publicly acknowledged.
Our medianites have failed their position as objective reporters. They have betrayed their audiences.
The medianites have done this on other issues, as well, such as race.
Perhaps the medianites are the true pandemic.
Next Chronicle
Pandemic! Pandemic!
They cried out in the crowded theater, “Fire! Fire!” But there was no fire. It is not illegal to falsely cry, “Fire!” You may get arrested for something else, like creating a panic, or sued by someone injured in the panic, but it is free speech.
Pandemic! Pandemic!
It is OK to falsely cry, “Pandemic!” even when there is no pandemic. This is also free speech.
In 1919, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes condemned the act of falsely yelling “Fire!” He wrote, “‘The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.’” He changed his mind in a case later that term. The Atlantic
Pandemic! Pandemic!
Holmes and the Court ruled against crying “Fire!” (actually, the accused had written a pamphlet opposing the World War I draft), but it was overturned decades later. It is legal to falsely yell, “Fire!”
When Holmes changed his mind in another case that same term, he wrote, “‘The ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas -- that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out.’” (The Atlantic article again)
The cure for a false claim, like “Pandemic!” is simply to allow the resounding truth of the issue to express itself.
Of course, that means that there has to be a media outlet available for the truth.
“Pandemic! Pandemic!”
That headline sells much better than, “All is well!”
Besides, the medianites have been crying about the horrid projections (2.2 million dead in America!). But the numbers aren’t there, social distancing or open economy, even with the new math.
Cholesterol! Cholesterol!
The theory that high cholesterol causes coronary arterial disease is dead after roughly 50 years, during which this false theory governed dietary guidelines and enriched pharmaceutical manufacturers of cholesterol-lowering drugs. Cholesterol is made by the body, required for every new cell, for repair of cells, sex hormones, heart protective CO-Q10, etc.
In a few decades this might be publicly acknowledged.
Plaque! Plaque!
And the theory that amyloid plaque in the brain is the cause of Alzheimer’s seems to have derailed research for 25 years. The plaque actually is a protective function, encasing metals, bacteria, etc. that have breached the blood brain barrier.
In a few decades this might be publicly acknowledged.
Pandemic! Pandemic!
What if viruses are like cholesterol, amyloid plaque, and bacteria (our indispensable microbiome!) and serve a positive purpose?
It has taken over a century to acknowledge that the great majority of bacteria within us are helpful or neutral. The harmful ones are by far the minority and take advantage of weaknesses allowing them entry.
We also need the virome that exists within us, just as we need the bacterial microbiome. Viruses, like the bacteria, existed before us and will exist beyond us. We have grown up with both of them, and they are integral to our existence.
In a few decades this might be publicly acknowledged.
Our medianites have failed their position as objective reporters. They have betrayed their audiences.
The medianites have done this on other issues, as well, such as race.
Perhaps the medianites are the true pandemic.
Next Chronicle