Article in progress. Thoughts?

Health policy is a huge topic, and we’ve all heard the saying about lies, damned lies, and statistics.

We also suffer from TMI in this information age. Somehow, we need to sort the good from the bad, the essential from the trash.

Do you think it's helpful first to separate the moral from the material? It might clear the mind to be able to say, “This is a moral question about what I should do. That is a question about what exists in the observable, material world.” Two separate things, often intermingled in real life.

Separating out moral information reminds us what are the enduring things, both good and bad. The things we know are consistently true about God, the natural world, and human nature.

Moral questions are the “shoulds” and “should-nots” of life. To be coherent, the principles behind them should hang together. For example, “Don’t murder,” because God said so; and He said so because it’s for our good, because God is love. We suffer when we disobey.

Identifying something as a moral choice lets us seek out moral proofs to develop a consistent, thoughtful worldview.

Importantly, moral principles are foundational to questions of science. Forgetful creatures that we are, revisiting moral absolutes makes it easier to judge the world of information out there.

Material world of science

Bombarded with information, we’re tempted to judge it by how we feel about who it came from – ie, with a political standard. But we’re all human, and our circumstances and preferences change. That’s not much of a standard to determine what’s true.

Approving information just because it came from “our side” sets up an echo chamber, with no challenging voice to test it against all the facts. Eventually, we end up being betrayed by friends. This road leads to bitterness and estrangement. If you’re like me, you’ve seen many friends get disgusted and leave politics for this very reason.

Health policy impacts us all. The truth about it is important, and we had better use a straight stick to measure it.

What would help you understand state health policy?

What is your favorite tool or skill for digging out the truth?

What helps you apply logic and avoid fallacies?