Fact, Fiction, and Crackpots

The easiest conclusion to draw from the news this week is that Republicans are terrible, terrible people. President Trump wrapped up his first trip abroad during which he perpetuated the caricature of the ugly American. In Washington, the Trump administration budget was released and it reads like the story of Robin Hood with the premise reversed. In Montana, Republicans elected an ape to congress who is good with his fists and not so good with critical thinking. And in a nice reminder of GOP intolerance, the White House released a photo of the G7 spouses and failed to acknowledge First Gentleman of Luxembourg Gauthier Destenay who is gay.

While any of those stories warrant scrutiny there were other items in the news this week beyond the Trump national disgrace. One begs the following question:

When did it become universally acceptable that parenting choices should not be questioned?

Actually, hold that thought for a moment. Instead, lets start with a few facts. So far in 2017, six children have died nationwide after being left in a hot vehicle. During the 2016 the pace at which children were accidentally killed by guns in the home was one per day. Then there are the non-stop individual stories of parental stupidity from letting kids guzzle non-stop soft drinks into obesity to the famous "affluenza" case of Ethan Couch.

Raising children doesn't require a license or come with a manual. Some people are simply better at it than others much the same way that not everyone can play major league baseball. The idea that simply because a person is capable of procreating he or she is therefore capable of making acceptable parenting decisions is ridiculous. There is a blurry line between parental rights and the common good. This line is uncomfortable to talk about. Most parents recoil at the thought of interference with their child rearing. It's perfectly understandable and probably a good sign they are vested in the arrangement. None the less, government must sometimes step in to protect children from suffering through parental stupidity.

Republicans have again found themselves on the familiar side of stupid in trying to further define this blurry line.  GOP lawmakers introduced a pair of bills in the Michigan legislature aimed at eliminating rules that require parents to get vaccination education if they don't want to get their children immunized. The fact that anti-vax is a thing to begin with is incredible but given the country pays little more than lip service to providing quality education it's not surprising that overwhelming scientific evidence is thrown out the window at the expense of baseless beliefs or religious zealotry.

Understanding science can be hard. Making things up is easy. The chronically stupid follow the path of least resistance with the GOP leading the way on the anti-vax front.

During hearings before the House Education Reform committee, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Eden Wells, was interrupted by the Republican chair of the committee 30 seconds into her explanation of why the current rules are necessary. Had she been allowed to finish she likely would have cited the fact that data from 2015 showed that Michigan ranked 43rd lowest in the nation for immunizations covering kids from 19 to 35 months. That's not good for public health or for children.

Rep. Jeffrey Noble, R-Plymouth, one of the sponsors lamented the bills are about parental rights, "which have been taking a beating in recent years." Any perceived beating of parental rights pales in comparison to the actual beatings children endure at the hands of unfit parents. A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds and Republican lawmakers are not lining up with legislation to stop that. More importantly, this Republican hack completely ignored his duty to protect the public health. By siding with parents that willingly choose to put their kids at risk, he ignored the consequences that decision has on others. There is no excuse for gambling with the public health by sanctioning attendance of potential "Typhoid Mary" kids in classrooms and on playgrounds across the state.

In fairness, the anti-vax movement is bi-partisan and not all Republicans are supporters. Fortunately, it became apparent during the Michigan hearings the bills didn't have the votes to get out of committee. Four sane Republicans and all the Democrats on the committee indicated their opposition. Yet the episode is illustrative of how willing some lawmakers are to put ideology ahead of the common good.

The entire debacle is another example of how American society is willing to give credence to people that simply say they believe in something in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. They offer no imperial research to support their position and lack any topical expertise in making the initial claim. People are free to believe whatever they want but are compelled to use logic and fact when it comes to drafting the letter of law. Legislating fiction into law is unacceptable as is the practice of accepting crackpots as mainstream.