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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Who do you trust?

My boys were recently watching a movie with a catchy phrase that kept repeating, "Who do you trust? Who do you listen to?" I think it's an appropriate question in relationship to current events.

I want you to think about your impression of our government. Local, state, and national. How is our government doing?
Here's some areas I've been thinking about:

Education: No Child Left Behind and the Common Core. Our kids are where they should be now, right? - Don't worry. You can trust our government.

Healthcare reform: You can keep your health insurance plan. Don't worry. You can trust our government.

Foreign affairs: Trust me, you don't need to see my private emails. Don't worry. You can trust our government.

Department of Defense: Yes, there are weapons of mass destruction. Don't worry. You can trust our government.

FDA: Vioxx and Yaz are totally safe. Don't worry. You can trust our government.

I'm not here to bash our government. There are many well-intentioned, hard working people in our government. The problem is that our government is made of people. People are fallible. They make mistakes. They can't always foresee what consequences will come from their decisions. They don't always have all the information.

So what part of our government do you trust completely? What group is free of error and free from influence by lobbyists and outside interest groups? What part of our government has a clear and honest relationship with private industry? Do you trust our government enough to had over your rights to this group? To trust people to make decisions for you and your family?

This is the issue all over my newsfeed right now. People are calling on the government to enact laws to force parents to vaccinate their children. They are saying that they trust the government's decisions so much that parents should be stripped of their right to informed consent before a medical procedure is performed on their child.

So, my questions is, "Who do you trust?" Do you trust a parent, who loves their child more than life itself, to research these issues carefully and make health care decisions thoughtfully? Or do you trust the government to make a one-size-fits-all decision? (Oh, and the private industry and doctors have been legally absolved of all liability if there's a problem.)

Before you think this is only a parents' rights issue, remember the health care workers who were fired for refusing the seasonal flu shot. For a seasonal flu shot that failed to protect against most of the seasonal flus.

The CDC says you should still get your flu shot. Don't worry. You can trust our government.

If you are interested in contacting your legislators about current bills that would reduce parental rights, you can find out more information at National Vaccine Information Center.