Kakistocracy and the War on Public Health

Today, democracies around the world are under threat by the rise of self-serving, incompetent and conspiracy-driven leaders. Some would argue the cretins are put in the store window to distract you from the looting that is going on behind the scenes.

There is a term for the politics of our time: kakistocracy.

The word is a combination of two Greek roots, kákistos meaning “worst” and krátos meaning “rule” and dates back to the 17th century. It literally means government by the worst people. And the Oxford Dictionary describes a kakistocracy as a “government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.”

But kakistocracy is not merely frustrating and dysfunctional; it has real life and death implications. And nowhere is this more evident than in the person of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his assault on public health.

His own cousin, Caroline Kennedy, has publicly denounced him as a cynical predator. Caroline’s daughter, Tatiana Schlossberg, diagnosed with stage four cancer at just 34, has gone even further saying innocent lives have been put at risk.

“As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly half a billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technologies that could be used against certain cancers. He slashed billions in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest sponsor of medical research, and threatened to oust the panel of medical experts charged with recommending preventive cancer screenings.

“Hundreds of clinical trials were cancelled, affecting thousands of patients… I worried about trials that were my own shot at remission.”

Tatiana is dying, but is determined to speak up for thousands who will die from the ideological looting underway in the American medical research world. Those deaths won’t be contained on the other side of the border.

Recently, it was reported that cervical cancer rates in Canada are on the rise despite the fact that this was one cancer on track to be totally eliminated.

Every year, 349,000 women die from cervical cancer, but thanks to the HPV vaccine, this nightmare could and should be ending.

But not if RFK Jr has his way.

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A former “vaccine injury” lawyer, RFK Jr., has led a relentless campaign against vaccines. Even though the HPV vaccine has a proven 90% effectiveness rate, he has claimed publicly that it is “the most dangerous vaccine ever invented.”

In his legal battles against vaccines, Kennedy has done well for himself, receiving millions for taking on vaccine manufacturers.

At the same time, he’s also been a one-person wrecking machine, undermining public health efforts. He is widely recognized at one of the world’s leading voices in online disinformation. And now he has the power to direct American health policy and will have a heavy influence on global health responses.

In Ontario, it’s projected that 670 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year and 170 will die. If vaccination rates continue to stagnate, more will die.

This dismal news comes as Canada loses its status as a measles-free nation. Thirty years of strong public health measures have been undermined by the toxic combination of conspiracy, disinformation and cynical right-wing politicians playing to a rage base.

This past fall, Alberta had more measles cases than the entire United States. Until recently, Alberta was a gold standard for public health and vaccination.

But in the world of cynical politicians, children will needlessly get sick, and people will die. Our children, especially our daughters, deserve better than a world reduced to a kakistocracy. It’s time we put the run on the worst and most unfit who have taken over public institutions.

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