.
. >> WELL, IT’S BEEN QUITE THE YEAR AS THE PANDEMIC GOT AHOLD
OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
IN OUR DEEP IN POLITICAL
DIVISIVENESS IT WAS OUR DIVISION
ON MASKS THAN THE SERIOUSNESS OF
THE VIRUS AND HOW TO FIGHT
AGAINST IT DURING THE TIME OF
ELECTION, SOWING DOUBT AMONG OUR
PROCESS, WHICH IS THE FOUNDATION
OF OUR DEMOCRACY.
HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD FROM
THAT?
DR. LUIS ZELENAA AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HAS SOME
THOUGHTS ON THAT.
2KRD Z
DR. ZELENAS, WHAT DO YOU HAVE
TO SAY ABOUT THAT?
>> WE KNOW THAT IN THE PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE, INDIVISABLEIBLE IS N
BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY PEOPLE.
SERIOUSNESS AND HATE ARE
DIVIDING US.
AS HEYOU MENTIONED IN YOUR
INTRODUCTION, A LOT OF BASELESS
RUMORS, CONSPIRACY THEORYIES GO
AROUND AND REV UP FEAR, REV UP
HATE TO DIVIDE PEOPLE.
STUDIES GOING AROUND ON-LINE
SHOW THAT HATE SPREADS MORE
LIKELY THAN TRUT H DOES.
>> SO IN ORDER FOR THE COUNTRY
TO MOVE FORWARD PROGRESSIVELY,
AND I DON’T MEAN THAT
POLITICALLY, BUT HOW DO WE DO
THAT?
YOU SAY THAT T.V. AND SOCIAL
MEDIA IS PLAYING A ROLE, IF NOT
A GOOD ROLE, THEN A ROLE AT THIS
POINT.
>> STICK TO THE SCIENCE.
JUST BEWILDERED BY THE
POLITICALIZATION OF SCIENCE
ITSELF.
SCIENCE DOESN’T TELL YOU WHAT’S
GOOD AND WHAT’S BAD, SCIENCE
TELLS YOU WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING
ON.
WE WOULDN’T HAVE THE VACCINES
RIGHT NOW IF WE DIDN’T HAVE
SCIENCE.
WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HOW
IMPORTANT SCIENCE IS, YOU GET IN
YOUR CAR, SCIENCE MAKES IT GO.
YOU GET IN A PLANE, SCIENCE
MAKES IT GO.
PEOPLE WATCHING YOU RIGHT NOW
ARE WATCHING YOU BECAUSE OF
SCIENCE, SO WE NEED TO TRUST THE
SCIENTIFIC METHOD MORE THAN
SIMPLY WHAT PEOPLE SAY IS GOING
ON.
>> AND THAT TAKES AN EVOLUTION
OF THOUGHT.
PEOPLE’S ATTITUDES HAVE TO
CHANGE.
IT TAKES A LONG TIME.
HOW LONG SDS SOMETHING LIKE THIS
HOW LONG DOES SOMETHING LIKE
THIS TAKE TO EVOLVE?
IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT’S
HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY.
>> NO, IT’S NOT, UNFORTUNATELY,
BUT THE IDEA THAT WE STRETCH --
BASICALLY, WE LOOK AT WHAT’S OUR
IDEAL CULTURE, AND BY CULTURE, I
MEAN WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT
SCIENCE.
WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT WHAT’S
ACTUALLY THERE.
WE’RE GOING TO SEE HOW MANY
PEOPLE ARE IN HOSPITALS, HOMEW
MANY PEOPLE VOTED, AND HOW MANY
PEOPLE ACTUALLY DIED.
THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE DISAGREE
WITH WHAT’S ACTUALLY THERE --
>> WHAT DO YOU TAKE TO YOUR
STUDENTS?
>> WELL, THAT WOULD BE A REALLY
LARGE FIRST STEP FOR US TO TAKE,
AND AS YOU POINTED OUT,
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE SOME
LEADERS THAT DON’T WANT US TO BE
TOGETHER.
THEY -- THEY’RE JOINING THIS
DIVISIVENESS.
IF THEY WERE JUST A SMALL GROUP
OF PEOPLE, WE WOULDN’T HAVE TO
TAKE IT SERIOUSLY, BUT WHEN YOU
START DIVIDING THE COUNTRY IN
HALF, 60-40, ANYWHERE NEAR THOSE
HUGE NUMBERS, IT’S REALLY
PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE IT’S REALLY
HARD TO RIP UP REALLY STRONG
EMOTIONS WITH FEAR AND HATE WHEN
YOU MAKE ONE SIDE FEAR AND HATE
THE OTHER SIDE.
I’M REMINDED OF THE STORY OF
WORLD WAR I, WHEN THE GERMAN
SOLDIERS AND THE ALLIED SOLDIERS
BASICALLY CAME OUT OF THE
TRENCHES AND THEY MET IN NO
MAN’S LAND AT CHRISTMAS,
CHRISTMAS EVE, AND FOUND OUT
THAT EACH SIDE WASN’T THE DEVIL,
AS THEY HAD BEEN TOLD.
WHEN THEY GOT BACK IN THE
TRENCHES, ALL OF THESE STORIES
THAT THEIR OFFICIALS HAD BEEN
TELLING THEM ABOUT THE OTHER ON
THE FIELD OF BATTLE WAS FALSE.
THEY HAD TWO ARMS, TWO LEGS, ONE
HEAD, JUST LIKE THEY WERE, AND
THEY WERE YOUNG AND SCARED.
THE OFFICERS SAID, WE’LL NEVER,
EVER LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN
BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO KEEP THEM
FIGHTING AND HATING THE OTHER
SIDE, AND IT WAS HARD TO DO WHEN
THEY ACTUALLY MEET.
I THINK ACTUALLY MEETING TO THE
OTHER SIDE -- YOU DON’T HAVE TO
AGREE, BUT JUST LISTEN TO WHAT
THEY SAY.
AGAIN, AS A SOCIAL SCIENTIST, I
WOULD STRESS, YOU HAVE TO STRESS
THE RATIONALITY, THE FACTUAL
NATURE OF THESE THINGS.
>> DOCTOR, WE’RE OUT OF TIME
NOW, BUT I TAKE ALL OF YOUR
POINTS, AND I THINK WE’RE GOING
TO HAVE TO COMEBACK AND TALK
ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THEY MAKE