This is contradictory to official
government policy, but it seems as
though he is unaware that his tweets act
as official statements from the US
government. Upon being asked if the
protesters should listen to local officials,
he said: ‘I think they’re listening. They’re
listening to me. They seem to be
protesters that like me.’ The support
Trump has for these protesters is a
reaction to the support they have for
him. By prioritising appeasing his
loudest supporters over the health of the
American population, he abandons
evidence-based policy for political gain.
Additionally, a few weeks ago, Trump,
desperate to maintain the image that his
government has everything under
control, touted hydroxychloroquine as a
cure for COVID-19 on live television,
prompting an American couple to ingest
some, which killed the husband.
Instead of endorsing the science which
has been shown to save lives, powerful
politicians are instead exploiting the
situation for their own gain, with dire
consequences.
It is important to note that many
challenge policies simply from fear of
the mistakes and unknown effects that
come with the application of science. The
1950s saw the rise of nuclear fission as
a form of energy production, but the
backlash created by the Chernobyl and
Fukushima Daichi nuclear disasters
caused politicians across the globe to
quickly ban nuclear power. The failures
of engineers at Morton–Thiokol that
resulted in the Challenger disaster,
killing seven astronauts on national
television, in front of an audience with a
high number of preschool kids (NASA
had organised ‘the first school teacher in
space’ to join the Challenger crew so the
launch was mandatory viewing for most
schoolchildren), resulted in a backlash
towards NASA for several years, and
cuts in its budget.
Yet when science is ‘wrong’, the problems
usually arise from ‘bad’ science. The rise
of the nuclear power plants was arguably
too hasty. There was no accounting for
possible tsunamis and the damage that
could occur from a flawed reactor design.
It’s also entirely possible that the
reactions of governments to nuclear
accidents were too hasty. Ontario issued
an emergency alert this January about an
unspecified accident. Later, a message
was sent saying the alert was sent in
error.
A post disaster inspection of one of
Morton-Thiokol’s assembly plants
showed that new and old parts were
being stored in the same area and
workers were using paint marks to
measure O-rings, the very mechanical
gasket that failed in sealing the joint of
the right rocket booster, leading to the
structural failure of the spacecraft.
These infamous problems were caused
by variables outside the hands of science.
Science as the base for public policy is
n o t p e r f e c t , b u t i t h a s c re a t e d
improvements across the world in terms
of economic growth, social welfare and
national security. Politicians who abandon
science and go so far as to promote ‘antiscience’
beliefs in the face of such
paramount issues such as climate
change, vaccinations and the COVID-19
pandemic, are acting heedlessly and
selfishly, and are failing in their duty of
keeping societies prosperous and
bringing them forward.
Science Denial is Manipulated for Political Gain