What happens when conspiracy theorists control government?
In the U.S., we’re about to find out.
The effects may not be felt right away. It will take time for diseases like measles and rubella to gain traction among the young. But it's been reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated by Donald Trump for health secretary, has already impacted populations with his anti-vaccine non-profit, the Children’s Health Defense. The island nation of Samoa experienced an outbreak of measles in 2019 that killed 83 people, many of them young children, thanks in part to Kennedy’s propaganda. This man, who called the outbreak “mild”, could soon be in charge of America’s healthcare.
Kennedy garners support from both Democrats and Republicans. The pandemic made distrust of vaccines worse, but even pre-pandemic, he had a devoted following of young parents who were concerned about their children and rising of rates of autism. In one lone study, since debunked, it was claimed that autism is caused by childhood vaccines. Kennedy has not let go of this theory that has been thoroughly disproven by the scientific community.
Kennedy has made it his life’s work to oppose modern science with a deep suspicion of anything “unnatural” entering our water and food supply. He claims that contaminants in our environment are causing transgender and gay youth, that pasteurized milk is harmful, that “WiFi radiation” causes cancer, and that vaccines are creating a host of problems in our kids.
Interestingly, pharmaceuticals don’t make a lot of money from vaccines and wouldn’t have a problem, financially, if government stopped promoting them. The Department of Health and Human Services plays a significant role in getting non-profits and health agencies to vaccinate children against diseases that could soon be making a comeback. Kennedy has the ability to stop this funding as secretary.
In his new position, Kennedy will have significant influence over the public who may be losing trust in institutions, but still listen to those who talk with authority and certainty. Kennedy claims he will have a solution to Americans’ health problems after two months in his new role. This sounds a lot like Trump and the war in Ukraine, where he once claimed he would end the three-year-old conflict in 24 hours. This offers tremendous appeal to many who naturally desire an end to both war and disease.
We all want easy answers to life’s complex problems. Conspiracy theorists offer us untested solutions until they're tasked with finding real answers. I wonder how Kennedy will get the scientists who work under him to abandon decades of scientific research that lead to healthier populations. Perhaps he will convince them with one of his poorly sourced op-eds?
Removing science from institutions will take time, but it will create results. Just not the results that will make America healthy again.
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