Throughout this pandemic many people keep saying to ignore the politicians in favor of “listening to the experts.” Now nobody has more respect for science than me, but, though I am no fan of politicians in general either, I must report a bit of ambivalence about that advice.
First of all, the “experts” frequently don’t agree. When this happens, it is up to politicians and other elected or appointed individuals to decide. It is an unenviable task for sure. If you are right the “expert” gets the credit. If you are wrong, you “should’ve listened to the experts!” Not to mention that hindsight is always 20/20.
Secondly the word “expert” implies a narrow field of “expertise.” Very few experts or scientists are qualified to consider the Big Picture, and they often miss the unintended consequences. It is easy to lament the deforestation of the rain forests if you don’t have to worry about starving all the subsistence slash and burn farmers doing the deforesting.
Balancing a myriad of competing interests and outcomes is again what politicians are SUPPOSED to do, and there is no substitute for having people to do this job. Experts advise but politicians and leaders must decide.
Finally, experts, like us all, can be both arrogant and arrogantly wrong. I have lived long enough to live through more than a few rounds of “experts” making dire predictions that have not panned out. Fears of a “population bomb” have been replaced by fears of too few people in places like Germany. China is beginning to regret listening to the “experts” who talked them into their “one child” policy. Now there are not enough women to marry all the boy babies preferred by couples and not enough young people to support the old.
The consensus among the “experts” was that we would be absolutely out of oil sometime in the 1980s. More news just today is that the world is AWASH in oil. OPEC just announced a cut of 10 MILLION barrels a day and now the experts are saying that is not even half enough cuts to prop up prices. I read yesterday that on an inflation adjusted basis we are buying gas at 1932 prices!!!!
There is in fact so much oil sloshing around that some “experts” are predicting that when the world runs out of storage the oil producers will be forced to PAY FOLKS TO TAKE IT OFF THEIR HANDS.
Where are all the experts now who told us that “BIG OIL” was controlling the world and artificially keeping the price of oil in the stratosphere? Investing in Big Oil companies like Exxon have been “dead money” for DECADES now. I know I am an investor!! ?
So, while I love science and trust my doctor, I am just as skeptical of the nostrum, “Listen to the experts!” as I am about those who would have me believe that “women never lie!” ?
As always there is no substitute for doing one’s own thinking. You gotta be an expert on which experts to listen to!
AUTHOR AUGUST TURAK is a highly successful entrepreneur, award-winning author, speaker, and contributor for Forbes. com and the BBC. He is the founder of the educational nonprofit the Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation (SKSF). As a frequent guest, Turak has been living and working alongside the monks of Mepkin Abbey since 1996. His latest book is “Brother John: A Monk, a Pilgrim, and the Purpose of Life,” published by Clovercroft.
American Conservative Movement
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Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
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