Dear Callen,
There was an article in the news recently that really got under my skin. A young child was sick with the flu, and instead of getting the medicine her pediatrician recommended she took the advice of a fringe group on social media and tried home therapies instead. This group convinced her that flu medicine was some type of poison and scam by big pharma companies. This poor child lost their life because of an irrational and dangerous belief that science is wrong. This is a growing and disturbing trend of groups in our society thinking that their personal beliefs are right and science is wrong, despite a lack of any viable evidence to their position. Skepticism is an important thing for society, but it must be backed by valid scientific evidence and trials. Thinking that you know better than the scientific community is not only wrong, but it’s dangerous.
There a few things I never thought I would need to explain to you, but the growing anti-science movement made this necessary
- Vaccines are safe and should be mandatory to all those that can take them.
- Climate change is not only real but one of the largest dangers we face in the coming years.
- The Earth is in fact round and not flat.
Vaccines are one of the greatest inventions of our species. The introduction of vaccines has saved countless lives and reduced suffering around the globe for hundreds of years. Diseases such as smallpox, measles, and polio have been almost eradicated due to vaccines. In recent years we have seen a rise in “anti-vaxxers.” These are people who believe vaccines are dangerous to children and actually cause diseases like autism. This is complete nonsense and has been debunked over and over again. As a father of a child with autism, I not only find this claim ridiculous, I find it insulting to the people who are impacted by this disorder. This type of thinking is extremely dangerous. It not only puts the non-vaccinated child in danger, but it puts other people at risk. There are many children with legitimate health concerns that prevent them from being able to receive some vaccines. They are protected by herd immunity or the rest of the population being vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease. The more people who voluntarily chose not to immunize their children, the higher the chance that these innocent children could contract a deadly disease. As a parent, my job is to do what’s best for you, and that means making sure you receive the vaccines as scheduled from your doctor. This not only protects you, but it protects other children. People who believe differently are wrong and they are dangerous. This isn’t debatable, it is a scientific fact.
Global warming and climate change is also a fact, and almost every legitimate scientist in the world agrees. It’s also widely accepted that man is contributing to these changes and accelerating them. It is causing irreparable harm to the planet and if we don’t get a grip on it soon you and future generations could be in a great deal of trouble. It is an incredibly complicated issue, but one my generation has an obligation to tackle. I want to leave this planet a better place for you, not one of the edge of collapse.
I’m not going to even bother talking about if the Earth is round or flat. You’ve known the answer to this since you were four. The fact that there are any number of people who deny what is a very simple and provable fact just shows how strong one’s bias can be if they chose to ignore evidence to the contrary.
It is important that as you grow you learn to question things. There is no one person who is always right, and while I hate to admit it that includes me more often than I let on. It is not only okay to challenge the status quo or current way of thinking, but it is also a necessary thing to progress as a society. But you need to do it in an orderly and logical way. There are many things in life that are unproven or based solely on faith, but science is not one of them. In areas where we are not an expert, we should not assume those that are experts are wrong without valid evidence to disprove them. This type of thinking is dangerous. It causes children to lose their lives when they don’t need to. It causes us to make decisions that are easy and enjoyable in the short-term, but cause long-term damage to everyone. I guess what I’m saying is make good decisions, make thoughtful and well-researched decisions, and don’t be afraid to make hard decisions when needed.
Love,
Daddy