With the election just days away, with infections spreading here in Oregon and in almost every state, with the US Senate moving a problematic new appointment to the Supreme Court forward with no bipartisan support, with the recession deepening and a new relief bill still “in discussion,” and with violence on our streets continuing…
This morning my attention was captured by reports that mouthwash might help save us from the pandemic. Yes, mouthwash.
The stories sprang from a recent study that found that a coronavirus that causes common colds…not the one that causes Covid-19…could be incapacitated in a laboratory setting when flooded with mouthwash for up to 2 minutes. The study concluded that the products tested “may provide an additional level of protection.” The author is a researcher at Penn State University.
The report that I read was from the Guardian and the New York Times, both of which warned that the study provided no evidence for effectiveness against the specific Covid-19 virus, or in the human body which is a much more complex environment than a petri dish. The Times reporter has a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Harvard.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University commented: “I don’t have a problem using Listerine, but it’s not an anti-viral. You can use mouthwash to reduce your risk of getting gingivitis. I don’t think it’s going to have a meaningful impact on your ability to transmit the virus.”
Not surprisingly, there was more enthusiasm reported in the conservative press.
Our 4th Principle calls for the “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” How do we know what is true? On what or whom do we rely to give us confidence? What is the basis for our trust?
I have benefitted from the best liberal education available and have tried to be a life-long learner as well. But I know that I am not able to evaluate scientific literature. Some of you may feel, with good reason, that you can. But I just don’t have the expertise. Nor do I have the time to delve into every issue, even if I thought I had the expertise.
Do I therefore rely on experts? Which experts? Do I trust the Ivy League scientists of Columbia and Harvard more than the researchers of Penn State?
Both truth and trust have been politicized. There is no denying it.
In the coming election, approximately half of the American voters will make a choice that I believe defies truth…that believes the US has done “a great job” responding to the virus, that we’re rounding the corner despite the clear “proof” of another spike in cases and in deaths…
I hope that that half of the voters is just less than 50% . In fact I hope that it is well less than half. But remember that a 5-6% difference in the results is usually described as a landslide.
And that leaves me reflecting on this truth: Our society has been shaped into a polity where our differences dominate. This has been intentionally done. It was called the Southern Strategy in the 1970’s. The intention is clear in the debate over a woman’s right to choose and over the right to own and carry weapons of war.
I believe that we all need to remember just how divided we have become and understand that it is trust that must be rebuilt.
Trust can be lost quickly. Ask any victim of abuse or oppression. But rebuilding trust is a slow process.
Even if my prayers are answered and my vision for our world is given another chance, the divisions among us and the different views of what is true will remain.
Moving forward together? It will take time…which we do not have because the needs we confront are pressing. And it will take a generosity of spirit worthy of our Universalist tradition.
There have always been deep divisions among us. Deep divisions are not news. I believe many of those divisions can be traced to our failure to know the truth about this nation, its hierarchies and its structures of privilege. That is my truth. But I know it is unlikely that I can convince those on the other side of the political divide to see the wisdom of my truth.
We will have to search for and find smaller steps toward the development of trust or simply rely on the power that demographic changes will provide to enforce our vision.
But our Universalist tradition refuses to let me off the hook. Power alone will not get us to the Promised Land. Only love will get us there.
I will be reflecting more fully on the dynamics of this election season on Sunday. The spiritual preparation to survive this election cycle and whatever will follow will require our best and most grounded selves.
See you in church.
Bill