America’s culture wars extend into medicine, Florida is exhibit A
Jan 8th 2023 | Washington, DC
ASIDE FROM public schools, another covid and culture-war casualty, no institution had a steeper fall in public confidence in 2021 than the medical establishment, according to Gallup, a pollster. In 2022 this downward trend continued: only Americans’ confidence in the Supreme Court and the presidency fell faster. And politics is making matters worse.
casualty
n. 受害者, 遇难者, 毁坏物, 损坏物
institution
n. (以宗教、教育等为目的的)协会, 机构; 制度, 惯例, 习俗; 大金融公司, 大金融机构; 建立; 制定
steep
adj. 险峻的，陡峭的；急剧的，大幅度的；昂贵的
n. 峭壁
v. 浸泡，浸透
establishment
n. 成立，建立；机构，企业
pollster
n. 民意测验主办人, 民意调查员
民意调查机构盖洛普(Gallup)的数据显示，除了公立学校(另一个新冠肺炎和文化战争的受害者)，2021年公众信心下降最严重的机构莫过于医疗机构。2022年，这一下降趋势继续下去:只有美国人对最高法院和总统的信心下降得更快。政治让事情变得更糟。
The decline is not new. In 1966 seven in ten Americans said they had great confidence in “the people in charge of running medicine”; by 2012 just three in ten did. Whereas in 2018 public faith in the medical establishment was nearly identical in both camps, by 2021 it had split, rising to 46% among Democrats and falling to 32% among Republicans.(see chart 1).
这种下降并不新鲜。1966年，十分之七的美国人说他们对“掌管医药的人”非常有信心;到2012年，这一比例仅为十分之三。2018年，两个阵营的公众对医疗机构的信任度几乎相同，但到2021年，这一信任度出现了分裂，民主党人的信任度升至46%，共和党人的信任度降至32%。(见表1)。
One politician who has tapped into these feelings is Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican governor, who sprang to prominence during the pandemic by keeping his state open in the face of establishment pressure for lockdowns. He looks likely to run for president on an “anti-woke”, “anti-migration” and “anti-mandates” platform. In December he all but added “anti-vax” to his list, requesting a grand-jury investigation into possible “crimes and wrongdoing committed against Floridians related to the covid-19 vaccine”. He also promised that a Public Health Integrity Committee would scrutinise advice from the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.
tap
n. 水龙头, 轻拍, 轻敲, 轻叩, 窃听
v. 开发, 轻拍, 轻敲, 轻叩, 窃听，利用（资源、知识等）
sprang
v. 跳，跃；突然出现，涌现；突然猛烈地移动（spring 的过去式）
establishment
vax
n. Vaccination
Integrity
n. 诚实，正直；完整，完好
scrutinise
v. 仔细查看, 认真检查, 细致审查
佛罗里达州州长、共和党人罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)就是利用了这种情绪的一位政治家。疫情期间，他在建制派要求封锁的压力下保持该州开放，从而一举成名。他看起来很可能以“反觉醒”、“反移民”和“反强制”为竞选纲领。去年12月，他几乎把“反vax”加入了自己的清单，要求大陪审团调查“与covid-19疫苗有关的针对佛罗里达人的可能罪行和不当行为”。他还承诺，一个公共卫生诚信委员会将仔细审查来自疾控中心、食品和药物管理局以及国家卫生研究院的建议。
The state Supreme Court has since approved his request for a grand-jury probe. His state boards of medicine and osteopathy are soon expected formally to endorse guidance to ban transgender treatment for minors, a move seen by some as a political takeover of medical institutions. In his inaugural address on January 3rd the governor criticised states that “have imposed medical authoritarianism in the guise of pandemic mandates and restrictions that lack a scientific basis”.
osteopathy
n. 骨疗学, 整骨术
endorse
v. 支持, （尤指在支票背面）签名，背书, （在广告中）宣传, （在驾驶执照上）记录违章事项
transgender
adj. 变性（者）的, 易性癖（者）的, 易装癖（者）的
inaugural
adj. 就职的, 开幕的, 成立的, 创始的
n. 〈美〉就职演说
guise
n. 伪装，姿态，外衣， 名义
州最高法院已经批准了他要求大陪审团调查的请求。预计他的州医学和骨科委员会很快将正式批准禁止对未成年人进行跨性别治疗的指导意见，一些人认为此举是对医疗机构的政治接管。在1月3日的就职演说中，州长批评各州“以大流行命令和缺乏科学依据的限制为幌子实施医疗威权主义”。
Jay Hmielowski at the University of Florida assumes Mr DeSantis is signalling to his base that: “Trump supported lockdowns, I opened the state. Trump supported vaccines, I questioned aspects of vaccines.” He expects him to soften his position in the later stages of any presidential run, but adds that in this phase it makes political sense to signal a harder line. One feature of Mr DeSantis’s approach is that, as part of his attack on mainstream scientists, he presents himself as a guardian of true science. His vaccine announcement was made at a 90-minute nerdy roundtable with selected scientists discussing several studies. It was hard to imagine Donald Trump sitting through it. But Mr DeSantis listened attentively, telling his audience: “I think people want the truth and I think people want accountability, so you need to have a thorough investigation into what’s happened with these shots.”
nerdy
adj. 宅, 〈非正式〉书呆子气的, 无趣乏味的
n. 〈非正式〉书呆子, 电脑迷
roundtable
n.[C] 圆桌（会议）
attentively
adv. 注意地；聚精会神地
佛罗里达大学(University of Florida)的杰伊•赫米洛斯基(Jay Hmielowski)认为，德桑蒂斯是在向他的选民发出信号:“特朗普支持封锁，我开放了这个州。特朗普支持疫苗，我质疑疫苗的某些方面。”他预计，在任何总统竞选的后期阶段，他都会软化自己的立场，但他补充说，在这个阶段，发出更强硬的信号在政治上是有意义的。德桑蒂斯方法的一个特点是，作为他攻击主流科学家的一部分，他把自己塑造成真正科学的守护者。他在一个90分钟的书呆子圆桌会议上宣布了疫苗的消息，一些科学家讨论了几项研究。很难想象唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)能坐到最后。但德桑蒂斯认真地听着，告诉他的听众:“我认为人们想要真相，我认为人们想要问责，所以你需要彻底调查这些枪击事件发生了什么。”
That last criticism is not without grounds. Many countries struggled with imperfect decision-making between scientists and politicians during the early stages of covid-19. But whereas others mostly got through without seriously harming science’s reputation, America did not. In the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, Democrats also politicised the issue of vaccines. In a televised debate Kamala Harris, now the vice-president, said that she would be vaccinated if public-health professionals recommended it, “but if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it.” Efforts to stifle dissenting views on topics such as mask efficacy and school closures did not help.
Democrat
n. 民主党人, 民主主义者
televise
v. 用电视播送
closure
n. 关闭, 倒闭, （路或桥的）暂时封闭
v. 使结束
最后一种批评并非没有根据。在covid-19的早期阶段，许多国家的科学家和政治家之间的决策不完善。但是，当其他国家大多在没有严重损害科学声誉的情况下通过了审查，美国却没有。在2020年总统大选前夕，民主党人还将疫苗问题政治化。在一场电视辩论中，现任副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯(Kamala Harris)表示，如果公共卫生专业人士建议，她会接种疫苗，“但如果唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)告诉我们应该接种，我不会接种。”在口罩功效和关闭学校等话题上压制不同意见的努力没有起到作用。
Few areas of medicine have become as politically heated, and in need of cool-headed research, as treatment of transgender children. Neither side seems to be engaging in good faith. Some Democrats have misrepresented the medical consensus on how best to help children with gender-related distress, presenting this as a closed matter when there is no global scientific consensus. The cherry-picking of evidence by medical bodies such as the American Academy of Paediatrics helps explain why Republicans have become twice as likely as Democrats to believe scientists have agendas beyond the pursuit of scientific fact.
misrepresent
v. 误传，不实报道，歪曲
consensus
n. 一致的意见, 共识
Paediatrics
n. 儿科学
很少有医学领域像跨性别儿童的治疗一样，在政治上变得如此激烈，需要冷静的研究。双方似乎都没有诚意。一些民主党人歪曲了关于如何最好地帮助患有性别相关痛苦的儿童的医学共识，在没有全球科学共识的情况下，将这一问题说成是一个封闭的问题。美国儿科学会(American Academy of pediatrics)等医学机构精心挑选的证据有助于解释为什么共和党人比民主党人更有可能相信科学家有超越追求科学事实的议程。
Mr DeSantis’s determination to ban transgender treatment for minors may partly be a reaction to a lack of scientific rigour on the issue by Democrats, and some of America’s medical bodies. Several southern governors have sought similar bans, but most have been blocked in courts. By going through his state’s board of medicine, Mr DeSantis not only ensures that the ban is more likely to get through but will also enable him to claim it is based in science. “Florida appears to be the focus group for now,” warns Brandon Wolf from Equality Florida, an LGBTQ+ rights group, “If successful, I can guarantee you will see other states replicate it.”
replicate
v. 复制, （精确地）仿制, 再造, 再生
adj. 【植】折转的
n. 【统】重复实验中的一次
德桑蒂斯先生决定禁止对未成年人进行跨性别治疗，这在一定程度上可能是对民主党人和一些美国医疗机构在这一问题上缺乏科学严谨性的反应。南方的几个州长也曾寻求类似的禁令，但大多数都被法院驳回。通过州医学委员会的审核，德桑蒂斯不仅能确保禁令更有可能通过，还能让他宣称禁令是基于科学的。LGBTQ+权利组织Equality Florida的布兰登·沃尔夫(Brandon Wolf)警告说:“佛罗里达州目前似乎是焦点小组，如果成功了，我可以保证你会看到其他州效仿它。”
Science the following
Political opportunism, with both parties loving science where it suits them and spitting it out where it does not, is nothing new to James Cantor, a sex researcher who has seen “fair-weather friends” come and go. He has acted as an expert witness for Florida’s government in several gender-care cases. He remembers how 20 years ago he was pitted against lesbians and feminists because he focused on the role of biology in explaining differences between the sexes, whereas they saw most differences as social constructs. “Well, here we are 20 years later and suddenly I’m their darling now the science, which hasn’t changed, suits their argument [that sex differences are real],” he chuckles.
opportunism
n. 机会主义
feminist
n. 女权主义者, 女性主义者, 女权运动者
chuckle
v. 低声轻笑, 轻声地笑
n. 吃吃的笑, (母鸡的)咯咯声
政治上的机会主义，两党在科学适合自己的地方都喜欢科学，在不适合自己的地方就把科学吐出来，这对性学研究者詹姆斯·康托尔来说并不是什么新鲜事，他见证过“酒酒朋友”的来来去去。他曾在几起性别护理案件中担任佛罗里达州政府的专家证人。他还记得20年前，他是如何与女同性恋和女权主义者针锋相对的，因为他专注于生物学在解释性别差异方面的作用，而他们则把大多数差异视为社会结构。他笑着说:“20年过去了，我突然成了他们的宠儿，现在科学没有改变，符合他们的论点(性别差异是真实存在的)。”
All this has real consequences. Republican voters are less likely to get a covid-19 booster. They have also become more hesitant about other vaccines, including flu shots (see chart 2). An outbreak of measles in Ohio in November and December seemed entirely caused by unvaccinated children. “We haven’t had politicised epidemics before,” says Robert Blendon, at Harvard University. “There were never Republican views of polio, or H1N1 or smallpox, and Democrat views.” ■
hesitant
adj. 犹豫的, 踌躇的, 不情愿的
measles
n. 麻疹
所有这些都产生了切实的后果。共和党选民不太可能得到covid-19增强剂。他们对其他疫苗也变得更加犹豫，包括流感疫苗(见表2)。11月和12月在俄亥俄州爆发的麻疹似乎完全是由未接种疫苗的儿童引起的。哈佛大学的罗伯特•布伦登说:“我们以前从未遇到过将流行病政治化的情况。”共和党从来没有对小儿麻痹症、甲型H1N1流感或天花的看法，民主党也没有。”■
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