Trust But Verify
Growing up in the 50’s, I learned much from my mother, who certainly was a product of her generation growing up in the 30’s. While she was a strong independent thinker, she always respected authority as represented by a uniform, robe, or white coat. It just was the way she was brought up. My generation was rebellious and had many noble causes like civil rights, Vietnam and a woman’s right to do all sorts of things. And I think my generation was more conversant on the issues than the current crop of protestors that are stumped by which river and which sea. We can say, objectively, these issues are pretty basic when you profess to be pro -Palestinian, especially if you are gay or a woman. I lived in the Middle East for over three years. Palestinians don’t care if women or gays support their cause. But, I digress.
Responsibilities, more often than not, bring knowledge and perspective. Taking care of my brother for 46-years after his Christmas-Day accident in 1977 until his death in May 2023 was an educational process. The medical experts and associated support staff will, with little accountability, tell you what limitations you have, and what you must accept as truth. Fortunately, we, as a family, were not very good at accepting the dark prognosis for David. As I was living my life into my forties, fifties, and early sixties this stubborn insistence on TRUTH, quite frankly, did not seem as important until Covid hit in early 2020.
It was only then, during the early days of Covid, when I was confronted with the decision of whether to accept the Covid vaccine for both David and me that this was gravely important. My gut and the great council from my wife told me that this decision was far more complicated than the Trump Task Force suggested. I began following Dr. Peter McCullough who was an extremely highly-regarded cardiologist from Baylor and had published over 600 peer-reviewed papers. McCullough, who is a few years younger, initially took the vaccination himself, and he strongly recommended it for seniors and anyone with co-morbidities. By mid-2020, I made the decision to vaccinate David, who had more fragile health, but I held off for myself pending more research. In August 2020, McCullough and his co-authors published an observational study in the American Journal of Medicine proposing an early outpatient-treatment regimen for COVID-19, which included ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine among other drugs. In November 2020, McCullough testified to the Senate supporting this multi-drug protocol. McCullough then regretted his decision to take the vaccine, which, to me, seemed to be a considered decision based on real data and not the government’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) …. a smoke screen for my participation in what appeared to be an elaborate science project. Barbara had already made up her mind not to take the drug. Now, we were on board as a couple. In retrospect, this was a very smart decision for us.
To understand the rational completely, go to my website below where there is a great deal of information.
While this sounds like the end, in fact, it was just the beginning. I was stunned, astounded, shocked, disgusted at what Covid soon became …. Obviously, an intricate scam of corruption and greed. I could not believe that government officials hired to protect us would so easily sell us down the river for their own cut of the profit.
This is when I began writing these emails and creating the website below.
There is a far more important point. Our world and its ethical and intellectual challenges are so different, that thinking like a generation from the 30’s or 50’s is, to put it bluntly, moronic. And, it is more important than Conservative vs. Liberal or Democrats vs. Republicans, it is the lost art of ‘critical thinking’. In navigating life-as-we- know-it, abdicating your responsibility to question everything is not only foolish, it is literally, in some cases, suicidal.
‘Trust but verify’ should be your mantra, for you never know until you know whether your source of knowledge is misinformed, corrupt, or has an agenda contrary to yours. I trust my wife more than anyone on the planet; however, she still expects me to always stay engaged and critically look at issues.
In Canada and England, you can be jailed now for taking a position contrary to the government.
A quick look at history tells us that taking consolation that your neighbor’s ox is being gored is ultimately no assurance that it could never happen to you. Philosophically, we can disagree, except when it comes to basic freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Understanding self-preservation should, in this situation, put Left and Right in the same foxhole.