>>13469392you know i used to believe that but I just don't think it's true anymore. I get antivax sentiment is often like, irrational, incoherent, etc., but the more I look into the extent to which whether people who deserve to be punished are, the more i get it. If you're an uneducated schlub, there's not going to be a lot of difference between Johnson and Johnson "asbestos in baby powder" and Johnson and Johnson "our new vaccine is totally safe." Institutional trust is at an all time low and for a number of very good reasons. Vaccination is an example of a policy which can be outrageously effective with high trust in institutions, when it's done with almost complete unanimity; the US no longer has either of these things. I guess this really might be how the empire ends: a bad downward spiral of no trust for institutions, institutions being unable to perform their appropriate functions due to lack of trust, institutions are responsible for more misery, less trust in institutions, etc.
But it's not anybody's fault, really, just a mechanical swirling of the drain of history at this point. Blame Reagan, maybe, blame Nixon, blame Eisenhower? How far back do you have to go?
sorry for not /sci/
