Can the American experiment be saved from the Trump/GOP coup attempt?
The pharmacist in Wisconsin who destroyed 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine did so because he believed they would “alter human DNA,” reflecting a popular conspiracy theory on Facebook that has absolutely no basis in fact.
Science, religion, and conspiracy theories are all, essentially the same thing: systems or attempts to explain the unknown, to make sense out of things beyond our senses or immediate, touchable reality. Thus, our vulnerability to conspiracy theories and con artists like Trump.
It’s impossible for any individual to know or understand everything. We believe electrons make our computers work, but for all but a few scientists who’ve actually seen and measured electrons, it’s only a belief. We must trust their word.
This is why trust is central to science, and why scientific norms and institutions require multiple layers and dimensions of confirmation before things are asserted as true or even probable.
It’s also why trust is so vital for religion, and why we’re so horrified by situations like Jim Jones, Jerry Falwell Jr., and child-abusing priests. To commit to a religion or existential belief system requires trust, and these are all examples of betrayal of that trust.
