A Pandemic During Political Polarization
Public intellectual and Stanford neuroscientist Sam Harris said that if the Covid Pandemic was a dress rehearsal for an even more fatal pandemic, we as a society failed.
We failed because we didn’t come together during a time we needed to. The Pandemic became a wedge between the Red and the Blue parties and compounded preexisting political polarization.
The Big Three: Masks, Vaccines, and Lockdowns: Chimera of Government Intrusion and Overreach
On the Right, masks, vaccines, and lockdowns were seen as intrusions by Big Government, AKA “A Liberal Plot,” AKA “A Communist Plot,” AKA “Satan Himself.”
On the Left, vaccines were seen as dangerous substances that conflicted with highly educated left-leaning people’s embrace of alternative medicine and organic living.
Social Influencers Have More Power Than Legacy Media
Both the Right and the Left now live in a new Information Ecosystem where cultural influencers Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla have more podcast listeners than CNN and MSNBC have viewers and New York Times readers combined.
Both Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla are hard to pin down politically because they are complicated individuals but they do invite conspiracy theorists on their shows, they do have hostility toward big government, they do tend to be libertarian in wanting minimum government, and their views tend to be embraced by anti-government players in social media who weaponize their information to push their own agendas.
“News” can travel light-speed on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook faster than all the “legacy media” combined.
We no longer believe in our media sources, we no longer believe in our government institutions, and we no longer even live in the same reality. We have what is called an epistemic crisis, which means we can’t even agree on how to determine what is knowledge and what is real.
Vaccine Compliance
To beat the Pandemic, we needed vaccine compliance, but red zones were huge non-compliance zones. This doesn’t bode well for future pandemics when viruses may be more fatal.
We failed to address the Covid Pandemic appropriately because we saw a breakdown of trust in our public institutions.
If we can’t trust government institutions during times of crisis when we have to comply with life-and-death safety measures, we as a society are done.
The polarization of the Covid Pandemic may be a precursor to our extinction.
Social Media-Fueled Conspiracies Radicalize a Huge Percentage of the Population
The same conspiracy-soaked brains that reject all government information about Covid as a lie are the same brains that see free elections as a lie and are the same brains that believe Nancy Pelosi and her minions stole the 2020 election.
Once your brain gets hijacked with one conspiracy theory, it opens the gates to getting hijacked by hundreds more.
It may be impossible to live in a free and democratic society if a significant portion of it is radicalized by fake conspiracies because in part it is extremely difficult to persuade the radicalized to let go of their conspiracies. Their brains have been hijacked.
How to un-hijack their brains is one of the greatest questions of our time.
To Wear a Mask Or Not: Shaming Doesn’t Work
In this environment, wearing a mask, or not wearing a mask, becomes a signal to not only your political beliefs but your tribal affiliation.
Shaming and ridiculing non-maskers who have been featured in viral videos has not helped persuade non-maskers to wear masks. It has only helped to deepen the political polarization.
The Social Media Outrage Machine feeds our addiction to being angry all the time, but it doesn't bring society together; it merely tears us apart.
In a way, outrage is a chimera. It makes us feel like a tool for social justice, but in fact, we are merely preaching to the converted and enraging those who live outside our tribe.
The Appeal of Conspiracies
- People more and more have not been doing deep dives into credible news. Rather, they are enjoying “entertainment news,” which imitates the dramatic conspiracy stories from Hollywood movies.
- Conspiracy believers feel a loss of control in a stressful world, and believing in a conspiracy makes them feel like they are in control and not one of the “sheeple” being manipulated by big government.
- Conspiracy believers rely on a childish narrative about the world: It can be a world of closure, certainty, and control if we have a conspiracy theory to frame the world in such a way. In fact, the world is chaotic, illogical, and uncertain. Adults can embrace the uncertainty of the world. Emotionally-stunted narcissists can not.
- Conspiracy believers love believing that they have knowledge of a “secret reality” that the sheeple are too blind to see and this belief makes them feel special, suggesting that conspiracies appeal to narcissism, a form of psychological maladaptation.
- Social media weaponized misinformation and scales it so that what was once fringe has the appearance of being mainstream and gives conspiracy believers a sense of being normal because they enjoy power in numbers. In reality, they live in a fever swamp of insane beliefs.
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Fallacies That Misinform Anti-Vaxxers
- Additives are toxic when in fact the amount of toxins is less than what you consume in water every day.
- I lead a natural lifestyle, so I am building my immunity when in fact only the vaccine will increase your immunity in a significant way.
- Vaccines lead to allergies.
- Big government is exaggerating the danger of disease.
- Vaccines lead to autism.
- As a free person, I should have a choice since my choice affects me and me alone.
- Big Pharma is making billions from this corrupt business.
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Some Conspiracies Are Legit
To add to the confusion, there are real conspiracies in this world. For example, the medical device industry in the United States is corrupt and led by profits over safety. This corruption has been well documented in the Netflix documentary The Bleeding Edge. But just because you can find credible evidence for one conspiracy doesn't mean that all conspiracies are credible.
Failures of Media to Promote Truth in Vaccines
- Bothsideism, providing both sides to create what appears to be a balanced view when in fact, a conspiracy gets a lopsided advantage.
- The media peddles fake controversies because sensationalism gets high ratings. We can call this entertainment news.
- Anecdotes carry as much weight as legit studies to an audience that gives as much credence to anecdotes as they do to real data.
- Fringe news and fringe conspiracy believers go on high-profile shows like Oprah and other media stars.
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Sample Thesis Statements for Chimera of Conspiracies
In an age of the Covid Pandemic, we find that a significant population has been brain-hijacked by the anti-vax chimera because of a distrust in institutions, political polarization, the rise of “expert” influencers over true experts, and narcissistic personality types that crave conspiracies.
The appeal of anti-vax conspiracies is a case study of the breakdown of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Anti-vax conspiracists live in a self-feeding fever swamp defined by weaponized misinformation, political polarization, and logical fallacies that defy reason and the powers of persuasion.
A conspiracy chimera such as anti-vax propaganda hijacks the brain in such a way that the person stubbornly resists even the clearest presentation of ethos, pathos, and logos to support the efficacy of vaccines.
Sample Outline:
Paragraph 1: Define a chimera in the context of conspiracies.
Paragraph 2: Present your thesis or claim.
Paragraphs 3-7: Your supporting paragraphs
Paragraph 8: Your conclusion, a powerful restatement of your thesis.
Your final page, Works Cited, in MLA format with 4 sources.
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Develop an argumentative thesis that analyzes the intersection of tribalism and fake facts as anti-vaxxers bring disease back to the world. Consult the following: “The Real Horror of Anti-Vaxxers” by Frank Bruni, Michelle Au’s fear tactic essay in Slate, John Oliver video on vaccinations. See Bulwark “Contagion of Folly.” See New York Times logical fallacies video. Also see "Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem."
Watch PBS Frontline documentary “The Vaccine War” (55 minutes). We will develop an argumentative thesis that analyzes the intersection of tribalism and fake facts as anti-vaxxers bring disease back to the world. We will consult the following: “The Real Horror of Anti-Vaxxers” by Frank Bruni, Michelle Au’s fear tactic essay in Slate, John Oliver video on vaccinations. See “Anti-Vaxxers Trolled a Doctor’s Office” in the Washington Post. We will also consult Bulwark “Contagion of Folly.” We will also consult New York Times logical fallacies video, and we will read "Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem."
Develop an argumentative thesis that analyzes the intersection of tribalism and fake facts as anti-vaxxers bring disease back to the world. Consult the following: “The Real Horror of Anti-Vaxxers” by Frank Bruni, Michelle Au’s fear tactic essay in Slate, John Oliver video on vaccinations. See Bulwark “Contagion of Folly.” See New York Times logical fallacies video. Also see "Why Vaccination Refusal Is a White Privilege Problem."
Also take note:
In Peter Beinart's "What the Measles Epidemic Really Says About America," we have an excellent analysis of how the measles epidemic points to a larger breakdown of American society.
This is a compelling work that relates to essay assignment on Anti-Vaxxers.
Sample Outlines for Anti-Vaxxer Topic
Outline #1
Paragraph 1, Introduce the crisis of the resurgence of diseases we thought we had conquered like measles. Or describe the growing fear between vaccines and autism.
Paragraph 2, transition to a thesis that argues the breakdown of sanity that informs the Anti-Vaxxer movement.
Paragraphs 3-6 should analyze 4 major causes of the bipartisan tribalism and anti-science that informs the Anti-Vaxxer movement.
Paragraphs 7 and 8 should be counterargument-rebuttal paragraphs.
Paragraph 9, your conclusion is a powerful restatement of your thesis.
Outline #2
Paragraph 1: Introduce the crisis of resurgence of diseases we thought we had conquered like measles. Or describe the growing fear between vaccines and autism.
Paragraph 2, transition to a thesis in which you defend or refute the claim made in "The Anti-Vaxxers Spreading Measles in Portland Should be Arrested" by Patrick A. Coleman.
Paragraphs 3-6 should be your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraphs 7 and 8 should be your counterargument-rebuttal paragraphs.
Paragraph 9: Conclusion is a powerful restatement of your thesis.
Causes of Resurgence of Measles
According to Peter Beinart, there are several causes of this resurgence:
One. Lack of historical memory. Many don't know how horrible it was to suffer outbreak of measles, polio, and other diseases.
Two. Many people have "over confidence in their own amateur knowledge," and at the same time, these same people disdain expertise.
Three. American spirit of "autonomy and personal choice" confuses many who think that ignoring science is a way of asserting their freedom and individuality.
Four. Many have diminished trust in government, which is looked upon as a conspiratorial hornet's nest to be held in contempt.
Five. Many have diminished trust in media. Conservatives say the media is "owned by the libs." Liberals say the media is owned by giant conglomerates and "Big Pharma."
Six. There is rising faith in alternative medicine. One visible example is Steve Jobs who after getting cancer consulted alternative therapies and only pursued mainstream medical attention when it was too late.
Seven. There is confusion between causation and correlation when it comes to autism. Most people are diagnosed with autism at two to three years of age, the time when people get vaccinated, so many parents confuse the vaccinations with being the cause of the autism when it is really a correlative connection, but anecdotal testimony creates overwhelming fear so that parents make fear-based decisions rather than science-based ones.
Eight. Social media spreads fake Intel that becomes people's reality. For example, there is thimerosal scare. Thimerosal is a preservative in vaccines.
Nine. Many Europeans share the same mindset described above, so that international travel between the States and Europe is spreading measles.
Sample Outlines for Anti-Vaxxer Topic
Outline #1
Paragraph 1, Introduce the crisis of resurgence of diseases we thought we had conquered like measles. Or describe the growing fear between vaccines and autism.
Paragraph 2, transition to a thesis that argues the breakdown of sanity that informs the Anti-Vaxxer movement.
Paragraphs 3-6 should analyze 4 major causes of the bipartisan tribalism and anti-science that informs the Anti-Vaxxer movement.
Paragraphs 7 and 8 should be counterargument-rebuttal paragraphs.
Paragraph 9, your conclusion is a powerful restatement of your thesis.
Outline #2
Paragraph 1: Introduce the crisis of resurgence of diseases we thought we had conquered like measles. Or describe the growing fear between vaccines and autism.
Paragraph 2, transition to a thesis in which you defend or refute the claim made in "The Anti-Vaxxers Spreading Measles in Portland Should be Arrested" by Patrick A. Coleman.
Paragraphs 3-6 should be your supporting paragraphs.
Paragraphs 7 and 8 should be your counterargument-rebuttal paragraphs.
Paragraph 9: Conclusion is a powerful restatement of your thesis.
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