Public health in America has always been divisive because it sits at the intersection of science, government authority, personal freedom and economic interests — subjects Americans have long debated fiercely. From smallpox quarantines in the 1800s to seatbelt mandates in the 20th century to Covid restrictions in our own time, public health demands collective action in a society deeply attached to individual liberty.
…
For President Trump, it’s meant sidelining politically inconvenient information: from dismissing mortality data in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, to claiming the country was over-testing for Covid in early 2020, to firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics …. For the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., it’s about changing the gatekeepers and redefining what counts as credible ….
Share this article
Science is a method for formulating and testing hypotheses, not a fixed set of facts. It should work alongside other ways of knowing, but it must also be protected from political or commercial capture. Perhaps I’m naïve to think that such preservation is possible, but when it fails, people manipulate facts, trust collapses and public decisions lose their anchor in a shared understanding of reality.
