A Thinly Veiled Fable

Once upon a time on a planet on the distance side of the galaxy there was a large and powerful country.  The economy was doing well and most people were so well off they no longer had to worry from day to day how to feed themselves or how to get some sleep without becoming a meal for some predator.  Some would consider them an advanced society based on their technology, but their behavior lagged far behind. Unappreciative of how well off they were, they began to obsess about trivial matters and get caught up in fads and trends.

One day a group of obscure scientists in an attempt to gain a little fame (and possibly fortune) published a press release revealing startling new findings.  They found by comparing survey results to health records for over 1000 people that those whose beds measured exactly 7 flecks above the floor had better health and longer lives.  (The fleck was their unit of measure.)  Those whose bed height deviated from the ideal got proportionately sicker and died sooner. 

Word spread like wildfire! Network news picked it up and it made the rounds on social media.  Everyone was talking about the need for their beds to be exactly 7 flecks from the floor. It was vital; the health of their families was at stake.

Those with lower beds propped them up as a temporary measure.  The rest had to shop for new beds.  They arrived at the furniture stores with measuring devices in hand to make sure they got the right bed.

Before long bed manufacturers and stores responded to customer demands.  They began advertising 7-fleck beds.  Consumer groups said that they didn’t want to force everyone to buy a 7-fleck bed, but insisted that all beds be labeled so everyone knew what they were buying.

Although many noted scientists failed to replicate the original findings, that news was usually buried in less prominent spots or not reported at all.  Most people that did see it, ignored it because they just knew they felt better since getting a new bed at exactly the right height.  Other companies took advantage of this by advertising sophisticated bed adjusters so you didn't have to buy a new bed, claiming to be sharing "secrets the bed manufacturers don’t want you to know.”

Soon the government got involved.  In response to complaints and lawsuits, the governmental trade commission found itself in the business of inspecting beds at the plants and in stores to ensure they were accurately labeled.  Lawmakers that cared more about votes than about beds, health, longevity or science passed bed legislation.  Some, understanding that the poor health of some led to overall healthcare costs, wanted to make it illegal to sell or possess a bed that didn’t measure up.  Some people wanted a free choice, but this became impossible because options for the risk takers (and those who understood science) were already few.  Besides those people were labeled by the masses as deniers, their opinions marginalized.

As this same dynamic was repeated over and over from one subject to another, they muddled along with technology that allowed them to spread news, whether it was true or false, at lightning speed.  Both citizens and professional media published and pushed their own version of events and beliefs with little interest in checking or verifying facts. The search for easy answers based on poor discipline, the spread of useless products and services and faulty political and economic policies based on lack of critical thinking and perspective, and the slow loss of their freedom as they abandoned their responsibility to a government happy to eliminate every possible danger through regulations, undermined the future of this society.  Meanwhile, all the citizens scratch their heads wondering what happened.