Editor’s note: In this Future View, students discuss declining trust in science. Next week we’ll ask, “While a majority of Americans still think the U.S. is one of the greatest countries in the world, positive views of American governmental and political institutions are at historic lows. What is the reason for this decline in trust? How do we improve trust in our government? Will younger generations be able to instill positivity in politics? Or will the negativity continue?” Students should click here to submit opinions of fewer than 250 words before Nov. 28. The best responses will be published that night.
We Need a Public Apology
Before the pandemic, Americans saw scientists as nearly infallible brainiacs who achieved superhuman feats of innovation that pushed society forward. When members of the public thought of the scientific community, they likely imagined researchers in goggles and long white coats inspecting microscopes in futuristic laboratories, armed with resources bestowed by university endowments and federal grants, and powered by lifetimes of study.
This picture shattered when science became synonymous with ideological heavy-handedness. Suddenly, in March 2020, science was thrust onto the national stage. Science, they said, is why healthy children and young adults must stay locked in their homes. Science, they said, is why you must mask and double-mask. Science is why a person must quarantine for two weeks following a Covid diagnosis. Or maybe it’s 10 days.
It’s no wonder that the percentage of Americans with a “great deal of confidence” in scientists has dropped 16% from 2020-23.
The supposed science was thrust on the American public. Despite scientists’ claims of certainty and terrible consequences if they weren’t obeyed, each order was followed by a contradictory order. While the public lived in desperation, scientists and bureaucrats felt no need to explain and no need to apologize. For the public to forgive them now, they must first offer a public apology.