I am not sure when this will post, but I am writing this on a Saturday morning. This was supposed to be my morning to sleep in, whatever that means. Sleeping in on a Saturday just means that I do not set my alarm. This morning I slept in until 4:30 am. I had a relaxing evening with my family. One of those rare nights of falling asleep with little on my mind. At 4:30 I woke up out of a dead sleep with a burning passion to write. Writing is how I process my thoughts. I recommend it. I do not recommend sharing those thoughts with the whole world. Who would be dumb enough to do that? Right?
Trust the science. What does this even mean? I used to teach science, (Earth and Space Science), and I do not ever remember this phrase, “Trust the Science.” That is because it is a buzz phrase. And in my understanding, or if you want to call it opinion, it is an oxymoron. I respect science. But do I trust science? My personal answer is no. I appreciate science. I have a great respect for science. Science is integral to our existence and progression as humans. But to say “trust the science” makes it seem like science is an end result, or an absolute truth. It is neither of these. The whole purpose of science is to grow and evolve. Another way of saying this is, it changes. It is not truth, rather a method in helping us pursue truth. It is fallible. It is a tool, and a great one at that. It has my full respect. But I respect it for what it is. Do I trust the science?
Let us take this a bit further. Science is an activity, study, method, procedure that involves humans. Without the human brain, science does not exist. Humans question, research, hypothesize, experiment, analyze, and report. Right? Kudos to any of you reading this that is near perfect, but I admit that I am not. I make mistakes. I have to back up, punt, and start again too often. If we are honest, this actually describes all of us. The great thing is, we do not have to look at these as mistakes, rather opportunities to learn, progress, and evolve in our understanding. Science progresses and evolves and so does our understanding of it. Certain things we have trusted for many years have changed. Have you ever heard of Pluto? I studied the human body in college. It is unbelievable how the science is different in exercise and nutrition alone in the last couple of decades. Do I trust the science?
Most of you know from my writings that a tornado had a huge impact on my family and our life trajectory. Meteorology is a science. Where I live, we have some of the best meteorologists in the world. Our challenging climate draws the top talent in the field to work and study our weather. I have been told many times that our guys and gals are the highest paid in the country. As amazing as the latest technology is, boasting the best of the best meteorologists, and my great respect for these professionals, trusting the science almost cost the lives of my wife and youngest son. The report my wife trusted literally minutes before she almost died was that the storm was going to pass far north of our town and home. Do I trust the science?
As a young married couple, we did what many do and researched the proper birth control. We dreamed of raising a family but wanted to build our foundation first as husband and wife. We followed the science. When the time came, we discontinued our birth control and followed the doctor’s scientific and medical recommendation to allow ample time for my wife’s body to completely prepare for a healthy pregnancy. We miscarried our first child. It was determined by our doctor this was due to the birth control. This became a milestone moment in our journey. Unless you are new to reading my writings, you already know this. Do I trust the science?
As I write this, I have been in deep prayer for personal loved ones that have and some still are struggling with Covid. Some are vaccinated and some are not. I have friends and family who are vaccinated and have either whipped Covid or really struggled with it. I also have friends and family who are not vaccinated who either whipped Covid or really struggled with it. I do not give vaccinated or unvaccinated advice. How could I even be so arrogant to do so? How could I possibly know what is right for you and your family? The people I just mentioned above, I love them all; regardless of their decision to jab or not jab. They are my family. They are my friends. They are human beings. Your vaccination status will not determine my care for you. I do not “trust the science,” but I trust you as a person who is capable of digging in and making the best decision for you and the loved ones you lead.
Let us discuss “digging in.” What do I mean by “digging in,” and are you doing it? Are you putting in the work to find truth? Let me first clarify. When I say “digging in” or “work,” I do not mean watching cable news (pick any one you want; right or left) and/or reading your social media feed. You do not have to dig in or work with these two resources. They present you information on a silver platter while you do absolutely nothing for it. Do you go beyond these? Obviously, and unfortunately, political issues drive our country. It is so difficult to find truth. For every argument, there is an equal but opposite (re)argument…Newton’s other third law. Once you choose a political side, there are amazing reasons to support either one on almost any issue. This does not mean that you have to ride the fence, but when you study the other side, you can at least understand a little why someone might believe what they believe.
My observation is that the last several months of vaccinating has created three groups of people. The first two groups are the Get the Damn Shot group and the Don’t be a Sheep group. Inside these two groups exist your political loyalists as well as your cable news and social media news followers. This is because cable news and social media produce, or maybe we can say feed, passionate and righteous anger. These two groups also include many of those who are day in and day out dealing with covid patients, researchers of the virus and vaccine, and those who deal with the many other indirect effects of the pandemic and lockdown, such as increased unemployment, suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, etc. The third group is in the middle of these two. This group is interesting because it consists of two different kinds of people who seem to be coexisting. These groups are the people who are really digging in for truth and the people who just don’t give a damn. They coexist because they have something in common; they are leaving others alone. They either do not care or they care deeply and respect that other people are having the same struggle they are as to what is the best course of action to protect their family. See, the great thing about digging in is that even though you may not change your stance, you start to empathize with the other side. These folks also believe that what they are dealing with in their small dot on the globe could possibly be a night and day difference of what someone across the state, country, or world is dealing with as they make these hard decisions. It is very interesting. Again, disclaimer, this is my own personal observation.
The fact, and the reason why we have buzz phrases such as “trust the science,” is because Covid is right in our face. It is forcing us to do hard things, disrupt our lifestyle, and add stress on top of already existing stress. And, people are really dying. And, it could happen to any one of us. And, this includes me…and you. This is serious. Very serious. Not one day has gone by in the last almost two years that I have not began my day by asking God to give me wisdom about Covid and the vaccines. Not one single day.
So…What Do We Do?
Here are the steps I propose:
1. Pray.
2. Love Thy Neighbor.
3. Respect science, but trust God.
4. Seek Wisdom.
5. Dig in.
6. Love Thy Neighbor some more.
So again, to answer the title question, no I do not trust the science. I cannot trust something that changes. I respect the science. But I respect it for what it is. It is not an absolute truth and as history has shown, what seems right today, may not actually be right tomorrow. Therefore, you have to dig in. I also respect you and trust that you are capable of digging in, praying, or whatever it is that you need to do to make the best decision for your family. Please do not use buzz phrases like, “trust the science,” “#getthedamnshot,” calling someone a sheep for deciding the vaccine was right for them, or the opposite, telling someone they do not care for others if they do not jab. This is how we love thy neighbor. I will discuss this more in Part 2.
Update from my original writing: Just days ago we were told on a major news outlet by a leading expert/doctor that “The science has changed.” Interesting. Trust the science?
