I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire
A hit song, fr.om 1941, the year Hitler launched his Great War against the Soviet Union
‘Morality pills’ may be the US’s best shot at ending the coronavirus pandemic, according to one ethicist
https://theconversation.com/morality-pills-may-be-the-uss-best-shot-at-ending-the-coronavirus-pandemic-according-to-one-ethicist-142601
COVID-19 is a collective risk. It threatens everyone, and we all must cooperate to lower the chance that the coronavirus harms any one individual. Among other things, that means keeping safe social distances and wearing masks. But many people choose not to do these things, making spread of infection more likely.
When someone chooses not to follow public health guidelines around the coronavirus, they’re defecting from the public good. It’s the moral equivalent of the tragedy of the commons: If everyone shares the same pasture for their individual flocks, some people are going to graze their animals longer, or let them eat more than their fair share, ruining the commons in the process. Selfish and self-defeating behavior undermines the pursuit of something from which everyone can benefit.
Democratically enacted enforceable rules – mandating things like mask wearing and social distancing – might work, if defectors could be coerced into adhering to them. But not all states have opted to pass them or to enforce the rules that are in place.
My research in bioethics focuses on questions like how to induce those who are noncooperative to get on board with doing what’s best for the public good. To me, it seems the problem of coronavirus defectors could be solved by moral enhancement: like receiving a vaccine to beef up your immune system, people could take a substance to boost their cooperative, pro-social behavior. Could a psychoactive pill be the solution to the pandemic?
It’s a far-out proposal that’s bound to be controversial, but one I believe is worth at least considering, given the importance of social cooperation in the struggle to get COVID-19 under control.
Moral enhancement as an alternative to vaccines
There are of course pitfalls to moral enhancement.
One is that the science isn’t developed enough. For example, while oxytocin may cause some people to be more pro-social, it also appears to encourage ethnocentrism, and so is probably a bad candidate for a widely distributed moral enhancement. But this doesn’t mean that a morality pill is impossible. The solution to the underdeveloped science isn’t to quit on it, but to direct resources to related research in neuroscience, psychology or one of the behavioral sciences.
Another challenge is that the defectors who need moral enhancement are also the least likely to sign up for it. As some have argued, a solution would be to make moral enhancement compulsory or administer it secretly, perhaps via the water supply. These actions require weighing other values. Does the good of covertly dosing the public with a drug that would change people’s behavior outweigh individuals’ autonomy to choose whether to participate? Does the good associated with wearing a mask outweigh an individual’s autonomy to not wear one?
The scenario in which the government forces an immunity booster upon everyone is plausible. And the military has been forcing enhancements like vaccines or “uppers” upon soldiers for a long time. The scenario in which the government forces a morality booster upon everyone is far-fetched. But a strategy like this one could be a way out of this pandemic, a future outbreak or the suffering associated with climate change. That’s why we should be thinking of it now.
Conspiracy beliefs reduce the following of government coronavirus guidance
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-05-22-conspiracy-beliefs-reduces-following-government-coronavirus-guidance
A new study from the University of Oxford shows that people who hold coronavirus conspiracy beliefs are less likely to comply with social distancing guidelines or take-up future vaccines.
The research, led by clinical psychologists at the University of Oxford and published today in the journal Psychological Medicine, indicates that a disconcertingly high number of adults in England do not agree with the scientific and governmental consensus on the coronavirus pandemic. The findings indicated that:
60% of adults believe to some extent that the government is misleading the public about the cause of the virus
40% believe to some extent the spread of the virus is a deliberate attempt by powerful people to gain control
20% believe to some extent that the virus is a hoax
From 4 to 11 May 2020, 2,500 adults, representative of the English population for age, gender, region, and income, took part in the Oxford Coronavirus Explanations, Attitudes, and Narratives Survey (OCEANS). Results indicate that half of the nation is excessively mistrustful and that this reduces the following of government coronavirus guidance.
Daniel Freeman, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oxford, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, and study lead, said: 'Our study indicates that coronavirus conspiracy beliefs matter. Those who believe in conspiracy theories are less likely to follow government guidance, for example, staying home, not meeting with people outside their household, or staying 2m apart from other people when outside. Those who believe in conspiracy theories also say that they are less likely to accept a vaccination, take a diagnostic test, or wear a facemask.'
Guidelines are only effective if the majority of people use them. This pandemic requires a unified response. However the high prevalence of conspiracy beliefs, and low level of trust in institutions, may impede the response to this crisis. The figures suggest a breakdown of trust between political and scientific leadership and a significant proportion of the English population.
Other beliefs endorsed by a significant minority include (further examples available in the paper):
Watch this short video and you will understand
How utterly incompetent public health officials
And the media are.
If they had this guy on TV at the very beginning of March
We would have been spared the economic chaos
The suicides and the domestic and child abuse epidemic.
Combine that with Dr. Mercola's advice in his report which you can get here:
https://www.stopcovidcold.com/covid-research.html
And everybody would have just calmly adjusted
Without any panic
And all the people taking vitamins and minerals
Would have resulted in flattening the curve as much
As avoiding crowds, and keeping more space between people (social distancing)
Masks would never have become viewed as a magic talisman.
Somebody needs to speak truth to power and tell these authorities that We the People do not trust them because they tell us lies every time they speak and the publicly demonstrate to us their INCOMPETENCE.
The real problem is that there is no accountability for these people. They should be removed from their positions when they demonstrate such incompetence.
And undercurrent of everything that Trump has been doing is that he is strengthening oversight and making it easier to fire crooks and incompetents. The best example is that he is introducing socialized medicine to the USA, fulfilling the promises of every leftist politician, but doing it in such a way that every citizen continues to have choice and they can use the normal marketplace forces (switching suppliers) to enforce oversight. No need for big government or centralised agencies and high taxes. Just some simple rules of engagement that are fair and balanced for everyone.
Fair and balanced for everyone is how bilateral trade deals are negotiated.
The money follows the child, not the school, is another example of government providing a social service, but giving parents the ability to perform and enforce oversight.
These concepts are revolutionary and they will sweep through socialist countries as well, because they make such good sense.
And yet…
This article was published
And other writers are using it, and expanding on it.
The more you know…
5G has absolutely nothing to do with viruses
And 5G has absolutely nothing to do with Huawei hiding spyware and intelligence gathering devices in their 5G equipment for sell towers.