Science, Politics And Football

“If science can’t be questioned, it’s not science anymore — it’s propaganda.”  – Aaron Rogers

Photo Credit: Pixabay

By James V. Ferguson, MD (contributor to the Tennessee Conservative) –

Shaking her head, a friend told me she could not understand the abject lunacy of the Democrats. “You mean the people who masquerade as Democrats,” I quipped. “They are actually progressive socialists.” 

I could tell by her facial expression that she was confused, so I continued by explaining, the term Democrat is a label of historical interest. It is no longer a relevant brand because the FDR’s and John Kennedy’s of the world have long since departed. Modern Democrat leadership is defined and controlled by AOC and her squad. Perhaps Joe Manchin is an exception. We’ll see. But I ascribe to Rush Limbaugh’s theory that a liberal is always a liberal first and foremost, whether they are in West Virginia, Europe or Canada.

I identify with Alexander in Judith Viorst’s children’s book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” Only, for America, it’s been a terrible, horrible year of inflation with rising prices, loss of energy independence, an end to border control, rising crime, widespread supply issues, a disastrous foreign policy and rampant Covid fear. And “Democrats” want our vote? A year ago, Americans voted against Trumpian prosperity and indelicate tweets in favor of dementia and decline. Americans no longer listen to the media and won’t make that mistake again. 

Actually, at the start of 2022, I am hopeful. Polls show that two-thirds of the country have awakened to the harsh reality that effective policy is preferential to crime, anti-American CRT and racist BLM. 

However, in answer to my friend’s original question, surveys suggest one-third of Americans are controlled by their ideology or duped by those driven by the idolatrous pursuits of power, prestige or party. I told my friend there is one other consideration. Perhaps godless leftists are in thrall to malevolent forces of evil. Remember the Ferguson axiom: “Sometimes the best answer, for the otherwise inexplicable, is evil.” 

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The poster child of ideological lunacy and political perversion is Saint Fauci. Fauci’s flip-flops, his misinformation and abject lies are legendary. I trust you are aware of Fauci’s and former NIH Dir. Francis Collins’ coordinated suppression of the Great Barrington Declaration. This 2020 document put together by scientists, physicians and medical personnel has over 900,000 signatures. The GBD advised a policy of “focused protection” of the most vulnerable during the Covid pandemic.

These experts felt that shutdowns – which continue to this day – are producing “damaging physical and mental health” consequences worldwide. Dennis Prager recently observed, “You can live a safe life. Or you can live a full life. You can’t live both.” And John Podhoretz observed, “Remember that the American economy is not some abstract thing. It’s the ecosystem in which we live, and we are going to live with the consequences of having disrupted it the way we did for at least a decade.” 

I believe the consequences of Covid mismanagement will extend far beyond a decade. Consider the flood of illegal narcotics across our now absent southern border, and record number of Americans dying of overdoses on smuggled Chinese fentanyl. Consider the invasion along the southern border and the transportation of unscreened illegals across the country on “Biden-Air’s” clandestine midnight plane rides. Consider children and teachers forced to wear masks, obscuring everyone’s faces. Consider children losing years due to school closures and online faux education. I have tried to educate medical students by zoom, and it is substandard. I can’t imagine trying to remotely teach K-12 younglings.

And lastly, I have lost confidence in and respect for virtually every aspect of our leadership class and the institutions of government, including the CDC, the military leadership and the FBI. A recent Rasmussen poll showed only 46% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the FBI. There are Mulders and Scullies out there looking for the truth (X-Files), but the FBI leadership is corrupt.

I have not watched pro football since activists began taking a knee. But it is playoff season and I have always liked quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. His recent observation got me thinking about football again and challenged me to reconsider my opinion of the National Football League. Rogers must be doing something right because the Packers had the best record in the NFL and he has upset the left! Perhaps it is just as wrong to judge our country by the Washington leadership class or the NFL by the “woke” Commissioner Roger Goodell or the lunacy of a few players. Of the latter, I give the examples of Colin Kaepernick and more recently the disturbed Antonio Brown. I also admire Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady, whose comments regarding his teammate Antonio Brown were empathetic and appropriate. Unfortunately I won’t need to choose an allegiance since both my teams lost in the playoffs. 

So, what did we learn in 2021? I hope we have learned that politicians and the Big Tech oligarchs are as untrustworthy as the media. Adam Schiff, Zuckerberg and CNN are obvious examples. 

However, there are good people in the media and in Washington. One of my favorite old movies is Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring Jimmy Stewart. The movie is about a senator who tries to keep his virtue in the Washington swamp and succeeds. There are some Mr. Smith’s in Washington including our own Marsha Blackburn. We should pray that they don’t lose their way in the Washington swamp. And we should stay alert and hold them accountable to We The People rather than their party.

All is not lost, and I am optimistic about our country. America has gone through far worse times than we are currently experiencing. Notable examples are the Civil War, the Great Depression and World War II. 

President Trump’s Thanksgiving message gave me hope. He said, “Do not worry, we will be great again – and we will do it altogether.” Great words of encouragement by a true leader.

Adapted from an article that recently appeared in the Knoxville Focus. Printed here by permission from the Author.

About the Author: Jim is a native of Knoxville, practicing Internal Medicine for more than 40 years, prior to retiring in 2020. Along with learning to become a “gentleman farmer,” he has written essays for the conservative weekly Knoxville Focus since 2007.