For Progressives Science is a One-Way Street named “Settled”

science

The term “settled science” is used by progressives and the media on a routine bases. According to EcoWho.com, “Settled Science is a phrase often encountered in newspapers and press reports, usually associated with climate change reporting. Basically it is used to indicate that the science of climate change is ‘settled’ and therefore further discussion on the point is pointless as the underlying science is so strong as to not require any more discussion.”

“The real problem is that proper science is never ‘settled’ rather it moves and advances as new findings are made, even when what was effected was considered solid fact (like the Earth being flat and the center of the universe)”, states EcoWho.com.

Jennifer Marshall, writer for The Foundry,  in her column, “Why the Liberal Intolerance for New Family Structures Study?” observes, “The author of a new study showing some negative outcomes for young adults whose parents had same-sex relationships is under attack because his findings conflict with what, in some corners, has become conventional wisdom. Apparently, the idea that there is “no difference” between children of same-sex parents and their peers raised in traditional married mother-and-father households has become so entrenched among some advocates that new research presenting a contrasting picture is unwelcome—to put it mildly.” [My emphasis]

For the progressive gay agenda the science is settled. As Jennifer notes, “And these [critics] are the folks who urge us to be tolerant of differences and respect scientific research.”

Bernie Goldberg in his book Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, talks about  how in the 1980s the media began reporting on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The narrative was that HIV/AIDS was wide spread in the heterosexual community when then as now the disease is primarily confined to men who have sex with men (MSM) and intravenous drug users. In Florida 70% of known HIV/AIDS cases were caused by MSM according to the Florida Department of Health. This narrative, according to Goldberg, was promoted without scientific evidence or any research. The media message trumps science.

More recently the settled science that being gay is genetically based has been called into question. The best-designed study of sexual-orientation change efforts (SOCE) to date, has just concluded in a follow-up report that some people can indeed move from homosexuality to heterosexuality, and that harm is unlikely to result from such efforts. The original study was published in 2007 by Stanton Jones, Ph.D., of Wheaton College, and Mark Yarhouse, Ph.D., of Regent University, in their book, “Ex-Gays?”. The follow-up study has just appeared in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. In the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, the authors conclude:

“Evidence from the study suggested that change of homosexual orientation appears possible for some and that psychological distress did not increase on average as a result of the involvement in the change process” (Jones & Yarhouse, 2011, p. 404).”

Alan Caruba in his column “The 50th Anniversary of ‘Silent Spring’: A Lethal Legacy“, warns that settled science can have long term negative effects. “This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carson; a book that is credited with giving rise to the environmental movement in general and, in particular, America’s unfounded fears of pesticides, especially DDT”, writes Alan. Alan states, “Carson kicked off  ‘the precautionary principle’ cited by environmental groups and government agencies that, in effect, leaves the public defenseless against the health threats that Mother Nature provides in the form of insects and rodents known to spread disease, or mold-contaminants such as aflatoxin, many times more toxic than the fumigant that was banned to control it.” Carson’s book was based upon “settled science”, which has since been proven to be false by among others Entomologist J. Gordon Edwards.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “About 3.3 billion people – half of the world’s population – are at risk of malaria. In 2010, there were about 216 million malaria cases … People living in the poorest countries are the most vulnerable to malaria. In 2010, 90% of all malaria deaths occurred in the WHO African Region, mostly among children under five years of age.” DDT is effective in killing the mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Settled science is an oxymoron as pointed out by EcoWho.com. Science is never settled but for political purposes it can be made to be so.