“The first casualty, when war comes, is truth.” This frequently paraphrased quote is attributed to Hiram Johnson, a progressive Republican senator in California as commentary on World War I. Nearly identical versions of the thought are attributed to Samuel Johnson (around 1758) and Aeschylus (around 550 B.C.). An observation of the CLB is that truth was an early casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic starting with the truth suppression of the Chinese government. But this Article is about the injuries inflicted upon truth much closer to home.
I call him affable. I call him avuncular. I call him intelligent. I call him an unapologetic liar. I call him Dr. Anthony Fauci, who—along with Dr. Deborah Birx—was a familiar government agency¹ spokesman providing news and advice about the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as an unapologetic liar, Dr. Fauci ranks as probably the most reliable government source about COVID-19, its treatment, and its avoidance.
So what’s the complaint about Dr. Fauci? Think back to early March 2020. Those who knew about the SARS-like novel virus had to know about its airborne transmission, through exhaled and inhaled breath. Any public stampede to purchase protective face masks would mean fewer masks available to providers of health care. Dr. Fauci made a choice. It was March 8, 2020 when Dr. Fauci appeared on television’s “60 Minutes” and stated:
“There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask.”
Then on the 15th of March Dr. Fauci appeared on television’s “Face the Nation” and gave advice about avoiding crowds, restaurants, and plane rides, all without mention of the protection available through face masks. On April 3, 2020 President Trump announced the CDC recommendation of a “basic cloth or fabric mask” for use in public. The suppression of truth was over.
When we hear Dr. Fauci now in 2021 he is almost certain to advise “Wear a mask.” Some of those who believed Dr. Fauci in March of last year (and elected not to wear a mask) surely contracted the virus, and some of those surely died. Whether that sacrifice was warranted to prevent a shortage of face masks for privileged health professionals is not for me to decide. Nor was it for Dr. Fauci to decide.
Is it fair to assert that Dr. Fauci is unapologetic? I think so. A news account posted February 19, 2021 discussed a “recently released interview” in which Dr. Fauci whined about the abuse he suffered whenever he disagreed with President Trump. One particular whine was that a White House operative was “allowed” to forward to media outlets “a list . . . about all of the mistakes I’ve made which was absolute nonsense because there were no mistakes.” (emphasis added) My analysis is that Dr. Fauci gave his erroneous anti-mask advice not by mistake but by intent. The mistake was that of gullible folks believing him.
Dr. Birx was often seen on her own or in the company of Dr. Fauci to provide news and advice relative to the pandemic. Though she had a history of serving under Democratic President Obama and was seen to be eager to serve under then President-Elect Biden, her ambition fell to Thanksgiving hypocrisy. During the COVID-19 Autumn “surge” the official government advice was to stay home for Thanksgiving and stay safe. To his credit, Dr. Fauci followed that advice. Dr. Birx took a little trip and gathered with a number of non-household family members for the holiday. When her hypocrisy became public knowledge Dr. Birx announced “I will retire.”
The retention of Dr. Fauci by President Biden should be reconsidered in that the good doctor has proven his willingness to deceive the public for what he must have deemed to be good cause. The systemic lack of government credibility is certainly a substantial factor in the reluctance of many Americans to subject themselves to increasingly available vaccines. Again, lives will be lost due to lies.
___________
¹ In early 2020, Dr. Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) while Dr. Birx was the “White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator” beginning in February of 2020.
Leave a Reply