*Deep inhale; quick exhale*
It seems we've reached some sort of crossroad once again. We were doing so well, I thought.
Gah, well. This country has proven time and time again that sense and prosperity only last a short period of time. So, why am I surprised? Valid question, but I don't know.
Currently, I am quite perplexed with the general population once again. In any given situation, people take sides. Many of those that take sides are either misinformed or are too under-informed to have their own opinion. There's a phrase in medicine, specifically between hospital interns, residents, and tenured doctors that goes like this: Sometimes wrong, never a doubt.
It's a powerful phrase, yeah? I mean, think about it. Hundreds of people go through hospital doors every day, and sometimes those people were brought to the hospital bleeding out of all different places and unconscious. Without much, if any, medical background to go off of for that particular unlucky patient, the doctor, normally the Chief Resident, needs to make very quick decisions in order to have a fighting chance to save said person's life. Sometimes, that person dies. It's a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. The Chief Resident, during these situations, generally calls the shots. He needs to walk into an OR and make decisions quick. When these ER rushes happen, there is generally no time for the "uhh, umm, let's see here, hmm, let's think about this," that the rest of us have the luxury of having for our jobs--or any other time in our lives. It's the reason we...no, sorry, I won't speak for any of you...it's the reason I can't be a medical doctor.
For those that are in a similar bubble as me, perhaps you are thinkers. You are ponderers, wonderers, but mostly--fearers. You fear being wrong. You fear making a grave mistake that could cost you or others pain and suffering. Maybe you also fear how others see you. You fear dejection. Maybe you even fear the possibility that you deject yourself after a risk doesn't pay off. Maybe you even fear that you won't be able to get over that mistake subsequently. Moreover, you fear people who don't have this fear. You think and analyze and, to the best of your ability, rationalize whatever decision it is that you're going to make. Once you've accepted the potential consequences, you make a decision. When you've met someone of the contrary, your genetic computer doesn't compute their being. They are monsters.
To you, these people are a genetic defect in the system. They are able to conquer extreme emotional abnormalities better than most. Even if these people are intelligent, their methods are questioned. Perhaps you try to rationalize that they cannot be trusted because they are unable to feel the same way that you feel.. For anyone, even for them, that is scary.
Some of these people--these doctors--have a bit of a different calling. Perhaps, their mental wiring is too different for the "extreme decision world," that I previously mentioned in an ER setting. Those people become Oncologists, Pediatricians, or get into specialized areas like ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctors do. Others, feel that they'd rather research. They'd rather be on the front lines of new cures. They were effected by a family member loss from some incurable disease, and their calling is to pioneer new medicine in their dead relatives honor. It's not always this way, but I can guarantee you that there are many.
These people test. They test everything. Every new drug they test in rodents. Animal activists might be appalled by this fact, but it's all we have. Similar to the military force argument--this is the country we have. Yes, there are others, but imagine what would happen if terrible people infiltrated our country. Without proper defenses, whether immune-system defenses, military defenses, etc. they are tested and used to the best of their ability until they fail, and then we think of something else.
These tests, getting back on track with the medicine talk, birth fact through the use of a specific dosage of whatever new drug is being tested along with the time it is used on its subjects--i.e. the rodents I mentioned earlier. Rodents and pigs are generally used for these experiments, because they have VERY similar organ structures as we do. If the tests are working in these animals, the scientists, doctors, etc. up the milligram, cc, etc. dosage to scale to humans. Humans are then inserted into drug trials so that doctors are able to figure out if humans receive the same, worse, different, or less side-effects as the animals. Once these trials are done, the drug, if it passes FDA, CDC, and whatever other guidelines it needs to pass, is put on the market for consumers.*
With all of that said, vaccines go through the very same process. GMOs, on the other hand, don't necessarily go through that process, but they ARE constantly being tested.
This brings us back to the paragraph on fear. Even though science has proven time and time again the innocents of these products, many of you are afraid that they are life-threatening. The guff against vaccines is silly, I admit, but at least the logic behind anti-vacciners makes sense. Why does it make sense? Because one of the first places our blood goes to after it's shot in our arm--which is generally where vaccines are given--goes where? Our brain. No, vaccines do not cause Autism, but since vaccines go straight to the brain, anti-vacciners, who might know THIS fact, at least, believe that the vaccine causes immediate brain damage that doesn't manifest for years down the line or something--honestly, I'm not sure where the rationale goes after that, but it's the best that I could do. For those afraid of GMOs, you make no sense to me at all. Especially if you are for vaccines, your guff against GMOs is ludicrous, because even if GMOs do harm to you, they won't do harm to you for years down the line! Like, MANY years. Like the difference between dying of 100 and dying at a normal human's life-expectancy anyway of like 77.
For those that argue that GMOs may cause cancer. I hear you. It IS possible, since not a lot of testing has yet been done on this front, but before you freak about GMOs causing cancer here's a fun fact for you: On average, every woman on the planet will get breast cancer before they die, while every man will get prostate cancer. GMOs or not, this will happen. Cancer is made of us.We don't catch it like a cold. Sometimes genetics pass it along. Sometimes too much sun exposure causes genetic mutations in the skin, etc. There are tons of ways we could get cancer--one of which is actually the theory that the radiation from nuclear reactor meltdowns, A-bombs, etc. over the years have circumvented throughout the planet, due to high/low pressures, aka - wind, and we are finally starting to see the side-effects of those events worldwide. Obviously, that would have nothing to do with GMOs, especially since GMOs were actually created to prevent food-born illness! Yes, I realize that if they do have a link to cancer, that that potential fact is ironic, but the point still remains:
If you believe in science, then don't just pick and choose which sciences to believe in. If you do that, then any comment you've ever made towards someone's religion is just hypocritical. Look at the scientific facts, act on those facts--because they're facts--then support the progress.
I know this one was a bit long, but if you actually read all of this, thanks for reading.
- PatInTheLabCoat
*If any of my MD/Pharm-D friends want to tell me the other guidelines, please do! I'd be happy to get enlightened.
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