I keep hearing republicans and especially uber religious conservatives saying the left, and for that matter, moderates, are trying to demonize the right. Well, it's not demonizing if it's true. I think the best way we can share the truth with the mostly moderate American public is to expose how far out of the mainstream the radical right is. However, we need to use indefensible positions that they have taken and pounce. For example,
recently a vaccine was discovered that is 100% effective in preventing HPV, the virus that causes 70% of cervical cancer cases in women.
The Right responds below..
Of course, we know that they have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Take
this for example:
Exactly how the vaccine is used, however, will be largely determined by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of experts assembled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The panel issues widely followed guidelines, including recommendations for childhood vaccines that become the basis for vaccination requirements set by public schools.
Sounds benign, until:
"Some people have raised the issue of whether this vaccine may be sending an overall message to teenagers that, 'We expect you to be sexually active,' " said Reginald Finger, a doctor trained in public health who served as a medical analyst for Focus on the Family before being appointed to the ACIP in 2003, in a telephone interview.
Let us not forget the ever enlightened FRC:
In a statement, the conservative Family Research Council said it will "monitor the development of these vaccines, the FDA drug approval process, the development of recommendations for their use and the marketing of these vaccines."
"While we welcome medical advances such as an HPV vaccine, it remains clear that practicing abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage is the single best way of preventing the full range of sexually transmitted diseases," the group said.
These are the things that we need to make HUGE issues, both for our own gain and more importantly for the gain of the public at large. If they are opposed to a vaccine that would largely prevent 250,000 deaths a year, they need to be exposed and brought to answer in front of the American people. They should lose all credibility and anyone that associates with them should rightly be ostracized from politics.
The kids don't even have to know that they are being vaccinated, it's not likely to promote any new behavior in teens. It could easily be mixed in with the other vaccines kids get and have no idea of what they are. Yet, for some reason, they just can't support making it mandatory.
Let's get real here, if someone found a vaccine for AIDS, would they oppose it?