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Americans like, like, like to hate for the government, for all their weaknesses and failures.
But we willingly forget that a good government has also solved, limited or prevented many problems over the years, including epidemics, economic problems and environmental crises. When government works, it becomes largely invisible, taken for granted, erasing both the crises and the traumatic memories of these crises. Bad government we remember and hate and curse our children; but a good government is often a victim of its own success, the cure is so effective that we forget how horrible the evil it eradicated was.
This is literally true of the public health crises that were once thought to be history, such as the current measles epidemic.
Nearly two decades ago, measles was declared eliminated from the United States. This achievement was due to good science, yes. (The researchers developed a vaccine in the 1960s). But we can also attribute good government policies, as the country's jurisdictions have begun to subsidize and eventually impose the vaccination of children.
More recently, this highly contagious and potentially deadly disease has returned, ravaging communities across the country. Since January alone, 940 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 26 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Strangely, the reaction of the far right to this outbreak has been an outcry for the government to … strive to …
Some of these calls are motivated by pseudoscience linking vaccines to autism (a link that was debunked a long time ago, although still transmitted by conspiracy theorists left and right, including the president Trump). Lately, others have been motivated by libertarian fanaticism.
A Texan legislator of the "Republican Loving Freedom" recently called the vaccines "witchcraft" and compared the inoculation prescribed by the government to communism. The Kentucky Republican governor also said the policies imposing vaccination were anti-American; One of his country's US senators, Rand Paul (right), argued that government-imposed vaccinations threatened "freedom," even though it was a doctor who should know better.
In other states where authorities are trying to tighten vaccination requirements, particularly in Maine, Washington State, Colorado, and Oregon, "almost all opponents are Republicans who have adopted a position of medical freedom, "said Politico in a recent article. In California – where 900 students from two university campuses were recently quarantined – every senator from the Republican state objected to a recent move to curb immunization exemptions.
Fortunately, at least for the moment, these epidemics seem to be under control, which is to be credited to the immunity of the herd developed by decades of compulsory vaccination. But this false sense of security has only encouraged these ideologues to proclaim that we may not need the very policies of the government that have reduced the threat.
There are parallels with other social or economic ills that threaten to multiply in the coming years, while anti-government fanatics take advantage of memories that erase themselves.
Take, for example, the recent Republican attacks on the Federal Reserve.
From the ascension of Paul Volcker to the presidency 40 years ago, the central bank has forged a reputation for independence and willingness to do things politically unpopular. This reputation is precisely what allowed the Fed to get out of inflation and to credibly commit to price stability over the decades that followed.
The Americans, however, have been spoiled by this impressive policy. And we have now forgotten why the autonomy of the bank deserved to be saved.
Or consider ongoing attempts to lower environmental regulations, including limiting pollutants that can be released into the air or waterways. Such a bureaucratic bureaucracy is not necessary, suggest Trump and his acolytes, because the quality of the environment in the United States is already excellent.
Even if we had some sort of global record – what we did not do – the pollution went down, it's precisely because of those same laws and regulations that Trump wants to dismantle. Acid rain, blazing rivers and smoggy smog have diminished as a result of the deliberate political choices this country has made over the years, which Trump is now trying to suppress. On the contrary, the remaining environmental and public health crises – particularly in Flint, Michigan – suggest that our government has done too little to protect its citizens that too much.
An old Chinese strategy book recommends using the strength of your enemy against him. It is clear that the anti-government right has taken this advice to heart.
The email address of Catherine Rampell is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter, @Crampell.
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