Eyes Wide Open

OPINION

 

Several of my supporters encouraged me to expand my thinking on the potential for partisan politics, worldview predispositions, and the potential for data manipulation from the so-called healthcare experts. The following is an expansion and continuation from an earlier commentary.

Why is it that those on both the left and the right feel it their sworn duty to shut down good honest, wholesome, and well-intentioned debate on the Coronavirus crisis? For some reason those who just voted for and/or supported the $2 Trillion plus relief package feel it their responsibility to “crush” and shut down those of us who are concerned! They want to make you feel like you are not “on the team” if you share too many opinions that might expose further consideration on a multitude of issues.

The discussion goes much deeper than the relief package itself. We need to look well beyond the immediacy of the needed relief to individuals, entrepreneurs, and corporate shareholders. We need to take a very close look at the way this virus is being portrayed by the so-called healthcare experts. Why? The counsel that they are providing President Trump will have a far-reaching impact on future generations. The spin being levied by the media and political pundits is raging at warp speed.

As I have said before, the way we handle this crisis will have a direct bearing on the spiritual, economic, democratic, and constitutional foundations of our great country. So yes, I want the health care experts and those modeling and forecasting this virus to come clean and give us the truth. Tell us what you know and tell us what you don’t know. With “eyes wide open” American citizens can then make decisions for our families and loved ones at the local level. In other words, at the “We the People” level!

Part of my job as a Global Strategist at a Fortune 50 organization ($65 Billion) was forecasting. We would put models together and use regression analysis and build econometric models to predict industry behavior. Every model that I ever built was based on a very LONG list of assumptions. Our assumptions included things that we thought could happen or theoretically should happen. Every model had theoretical analysis and assumptions built in. Human reasoning, intellectual capacity, and worldview perceptions are part of the built-ins for those “expert opinions.” I guess you could say it is the part of modeling and forecasting where the “faith” element comes into play. Once the models were deployed and tested, adjustments were made commensurate with industry and customer behavior.

 

“…there are some (a faction in America) who want to use this crisis to redefine the Constitutional experience called America.” 

 

The same thing will happen with the Coronavirus. With a long enough time-frame, we will have the “big data” needed to help us make more informed decisions along with the needed adjustments. At the same time, I think it naive to believe that modeling and adjustments were not prone to ideological bents. Oftentimes, data is manipulated to tell a story that supports a predetermined conclusion. I don’t care if they are forecasting experts, healthcare experts, or elected politicians. Everyone is predisposed to a way of looking at the world and how things are ordered.

Right now, we have a lot of anecdotal information floating around out there and not enough hard data. I am not comfortable with the data, are you? Having said that, I think both sides want to save lives and get back to work. However, I also believe there are some (a faction in America) who want to use this crisis to redefine the Constitutional experience called America. Without being alarmist in my musings, I simply want to have “eyes wide open” to the potential of partisan politics and data manipulation that could have a negative and long-lasting impact on our great country! I will continue to question the key assumptions being used by the healthcare experts. Garbage in, garbage out.

 

Michael LaPierre is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina.

 

 

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