Freedom

Story by Zachary Faria 

COVID authoritarianism extends far beyond the lockdowns that ruined the lives of millions. And Democrats are proving it in California.

California passed a law that punished doctors for spreading “misinformation or disinformation” about COVID-19. “Misinformation” is defined as “false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.” The “contemporary scientific consensus” is, of course, to be determined by Democrats at a later date. The state’s deputy attorney general told a judge that it cannot be defined at this time.

As Senior Judge William Shubb said during a hearing on the law, the definition of misinformation is “nonsense.” As for “contemporary scientific consensus,” the pandemic proved that the “contemporary scientific consensus” was often wrong. The consensus on the efficacy of masks, school closures, mask mandates, and vaccines preventing the transmission of the virus have all been wrong at one point or another, among other issues during the pandemic.

In other words, the state of California wants to implement a vague standard of punishment for doctors who do not “trust the Science” even as the science is constantly changing. Never mind that challenging the scientific consensus is how breakthroughs are achieved and how people become better informed. Galileo challenged the scientific consensus — do they aim to emulate his persecutors?

If this law is allowed to stand, it will not stop with COVID, either. The state will crack down on doctors and mental health professionals who defy the “contemporary scientific consensus” that children suffering from gender dysphoria should be irreversibly surgically mutilated and pushed into hormone replacement therapy.

If the state can find a profession to punish for questioning the “contemporary scientific consensus” about climate change, it will likely extend its censorship to its industry as well. California experiences regular rolling blackouts as it rejects nuclear energy, which is rather embarrassing to the idiots who run the state. It is far more convenient to silence dissident voices speaking up for nuclear — this law would provide a precedent and a basis for doing just such a thing.

The state’s COVID disinformation law is an assault on free speech that is disgraceful on its own. All those who supported it should be thrown out of public office. But if the law stands, it would open the floodgates for California Democrats to usher in even more censorship of anyone who defies their political interpretation of science.

COVID encouraged politicians and bureaucrats to push for more and more authoritarianism. It didn’t end when schools and businesses reopened.