I've thought a lot recently that there is a LOT of harm done when institutions prove themselves untrustworthy. I've seen political analysts talk about the decline of high trust societies and it isn't even necessarily that the trust was ever warranted, but the lack of it furthers decline and increases instability.
I've thought a lot recently that there is a LOT of harm done when institutions prove themselves untrustworthy. I've seen political analysts talk about the decline of high trust societies and it isn't even necessarily that the trust was ever warranted, but the lack of it furthers decline and increases instability.
I'm a parent now with a wide range of ages. I know enough to know that the standard medical advice for some things is false or misleading a lot of the time. I know public health and the development of medicine as a discipline already had a lot of dark spots prior to 2020. That also doesn't necessarily make them wrong about everything, either. It stinks as a parent to be told, constantly, from all sides, that every choice we make is bad, and isn't it obvious what the right thing is, when it isn't obvious at all, even if you're an educated and intelligent person, and why can't we stop being so cavalier and heartless about our children or other people's children?
It really stinks to get a whiff of that from the Church. I would be so discouraged if I was getting this from my children's school, and yep, I would probably pull them to homeschool. Which would make me even more suspect to some, and round and round we go.
I appreciate this article as a sensitive handling of a very difficult and fraught topic.
To be quite honest, part of the reason my children are still vaccinated is because it's easier to do it than not, and I haven't encountered the sorts of situations that would immediately put a hard stop to it like some of the parents in this article. But my assessment of our risk suggests that it really isn't a necessary thing for us in most cases. What has kept us going is that I don't want to jump through the hoops to file for an exemption, find a new pediatrician or network of providers that are cool with it and can refer us to specialists when necessary who will also be cool with it, and other hassles. At this point, the actual getting sick part is not a huge consideration. I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I'll be honest about it.
The social pressure I'm sure is a big part of the point. But I do have to laugh at the suggestion that parents who want to opt out are all uneducated, lazy rubes. It is so, so, so much easier to just do what everyone else is doing and not stick your neck out. Again, I'm not saying there aren't people who mislead with poor data or capitalize on mistrust to make a quick buck. But uneducated and lazy doesn't describe any of the parents I know in real life who make this choice, even though I haven't also made it.
We started vaccinating for everything and then stopped due to health problems. I wish I were braver and smarter on the beginning and didn’t do it at all. Fortunately, we live in a state that allows religious exemptions and it has been relatively easy to obtain these both in private (non-catholic) and public schools. Finding a pediatrician was more challenging, but I did find one (the only one in the area) that allows for parental choice. Unfortunately, pediatricians have a financial interest in getting a high percentage of children in their practice vaccinated (there are bonuses tied into it). There is a big incentive for everyone to dismiss any problems due to vaccination program. The specialists ask but do not give us any grief and don’t lecture us, I think everyone leaves the vaccine enforcement to pediatricians.
I've thought a lot recently that there is a LOT of harm done when institutions prove themselves untrustworthy. I've seen political analysts talk about the decline of high trust societies and it isn't even necessarily that the trust was ever warranted, but the lack of it furthers decline and increases instability.
I'm a parent now with a wide range of ages. I know enough to know that the standard medical advice for some things is false or misleading a lot of the time. I know public health and the development of medicine as a discipline already had a lot of dark spots prior to 2020. That also doesn't necessarily make them wrong about everything, either. It stinks as a parent to be told, constantly, from all sides, that every choice we make is bad, and isn't it obvious what the right thing is, when it isn't obvious at all, even if you're an educated and intelligent person, and why can't we stop being so cavalier and heartless about our children or other people's children?
It really stinks to get a whiff of that from the Church. I would be so discouraged if I was getting this from my children's school, and yep, I would probably pull them to homeschool. Which would make me even more suspect to some, and round and round we go.
I appreciate this article as a sensitive handling of a very difficult and fraught topic.
To be quite honest, part of the reason my children are still vaccinated is because it's easier to do it than not, and I haven't encountered the sorts of situations that would immediately put a hard stop to it like some of the parents in this article. But my assessment of our risk suggests that it really isn't a necessary thing for us in most cases. What has kept us going is that I don't want to jump through the hoops to file for an exemption, find a new pediatrician or network of providers that are cool with it and can refer us to specialists when necessary who will also be cool with it, and other hassles. At this point, the actual getting sick part is not a huge consideration. I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I'll be honest about it.
The social pressure I'm sure is a big part of the point. But I do have to laugh at the suggestion that parents who want to opt out are all uneducated, lazy rubes. It is so, so, so much easier to just do what everyone else is doing and not stick your neck out. Again, I'm not saying there aren't people who mislead with poor data or capitalize on mistrust to make a quick buck. But uneducated and lazy doesn't describe any of the parents I know in real life who make this choice, even though I haven't also made it.
We started vaccinating for everything and then stopped due to health problems. I wish I were braver and smarter on the beginning and didn’t do it at all. Fortunately, we live in a state that allows religious exemptions and it has been relatively easy to obtain these both in private (non-catholic) and public schools. Finding a pediatrician was more challenging, but I did find one (the only one in the area) that allows for parental choice. Unfortunately, pediatricians have a financial interest in getting a high percentage of children in their practice vaccinated (there are bonuses tied into it). There is a big incentive for everyone to dismiss any problems due to vaccination program. The specialists ask but do not give us any grief and don’t lecture us, I think everyone leaves the vaccine enforcement to pediatricians.