Most physicians take seriously their oath to serve all patients equally, regardless of religion, political beliefs, etc. To avoid possible conflicts, we usually keep our political views to ourselves. For many of us, that all changed with Covid.
SARS-Cov-2 brought more than a pandemic to America: It brought fear. Fear of illness, fear of death, and fear of the unknown. Early measures to reduce Covid’s impact sparked controversy and vigorous scientific debate, and those measures succeeded. We flattened the curve.
Then things began to go wrong. Government and medical authorities moved the goalposts. Suddenly flattening the curve was just the beginning. We must extend lockdowns, mask mandates and shuttered businesses. With controversy and division heating up, the economy cooled down. Our response to Covid crippled or killed many American businesses. And make no mistake: When economies fail, you lose more than money. People die.
Tragically, our sacred losses do not end with lives and livelihoods. We have lost freedom and science. We now see every day in America things unthinkable a generation ago. Government, businesses and media censoring free speech. Physicians fired, blocked on social media, and banned from professional societies for practicing medicine and informing patients in good faith. Our most trusted medical journals blocking research and publishing phony studies to advance their interests. Government and businesses mandating a vaccine against the will and best interests of patients in counsel with their doctors.
This lying, censorship, and coercion fit a pattern called “tyranny”, which is bad enough in itself. But consider what it does to the sacred heart of medicine, the patient-physician relationship.
Frightened by a pandemic and confused by incoherent, ever-changing guidelines, patients should turn to their trusted doctors for help. But are we worthy of their trust? Are we practicing science to learn the truth and protect them? Are we standing up against tyranny to advocate for their health and their rights? In too many cases, we must answer “no”.
In times of crisis, some leaders say we can’t afford to follow the rules. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” This attitude, too, fits the pattern of tyranny. Of course, just the opposite is true. When facing a health threat compounded by censorship and overreaching authority, we must, more than ever, rely on science and guard our freedom. This is why we formed Physicians for Freedom.
How does PFF rely on science and protect freedom? Our mission is to promote fact-based, reasonable and respectful discussion of issues – in other words, compassionate scientific debate. As physicians, we serve a unique role as compassionate scientists. Our mission is a method, a means to many ends. It is broad rather than confined to a few issues, allowing us to direct our efforts to the most pressing problems.
Never in our lifetimes have we been so polarized and bitterly divided. Our mission is the best cure for this disease. Censorship and coercion only further divide us. Compassionate scientific discussion is the surest path to truth, and nothing unites people more solidly than agreeing on facts.
We are all in this together. PFF is a physician-governed organization open to anyone — docs and non-docs alike — who shares our values. Join Physicians for Freedom to promote the respectful, compassionate search for truth. The truth will make us free… together.