Letters - Wednesday January 6 2021

Today many people still believe the earth is flat. They deny its sphericity. Otherwise they appear to be normal.

When asked how is it that astronauts have taken photographs showing the earth is not flat, they respond by saying special camera lenses were used to fool the public. In other words, it is yet another conspiracy.

Conspiracy theories abound. They have been traced back to Roman times. Such theories are often associated with sinister motives. At their heart is a belief that the government is malicious or is being controlled by alien forces. Most are bizarre and freakish.

Examples include: President Kennedy was assassinated by the Vice-President; the Apollo moon landings were filmed indoors in Arizona; all our medicines are laced with toxic chemicals; 9/11 was carried out by aliens or the CIA; Hitler and Elvis are alive, and aliens have visited us many times before going home (presumably because of the dreadful weather).

Historians and scientists have shredded every such conspiracy theory. But as the old adage says, you can fool many people all of the time.

Not all conspiracy theories are simply weird and off the wall. Some are dangerous. Today, the social media enables these to be spread far and wide and quickly. Currently, several such irrational and dangerous theories about Covid-19 and vaccines are doing the rounds.

Covidiots are poisoning our society because they are persuading gullible people via the internet and mobile phone not to take seriously government measures to contain the virus; indeed they advocate ignoring them because, they say, it is all a conspiracy.

Unlike critical thinking which examines conflicting views and evidence impartially in an attempt to discern the truth, conspiracy theories ignore facts. Verification is never sought. The theory is absolute reality. It is pointless therefore trying to persuade the unpersuadable.

Believers in conspiracy theories believe in simplistic explanations for complex problems. Scientific evidence is ignored as being lies. Nothing is listened to that is counter to their beliefs. They are frightened to think independently.

So serious has this become that the World Health Organisation has just declared an Infodemic of incorrect information about the virus, which poses risks to global health.

You have been warned. Next time someone tells you the pandemic is a conspiracy ask them to provide objective evidence. Be prepared to wait.

Dr Barry Clayton

Thornton Cleveleys

Politics

What happened to promises?

I dread to think how we are to repay the billions being borrowed by the Chancellor.

I also wonder how many of those billions have been creamed off by fraudsters.

The police have no chance of catching fraudsters due to lack of funding and increase of duties they are expected to perform.

In some forces, they no longer have the staff to deal with shoplifters, so what is the next crime to be ignored?

Boris has repeatedly promised an increase in police numbers, as well as increases in nurses and doctors, but just when will we see some kind of effect of those promises?

Many businesses have gone to the wall and will never trade again and until the promised vaccines take effect, I can see no improvement in the near future.

Peter Hyde

via email

virus

Make teachers a vaccine priority

No one could disagree that children’s education is important, for both educational achievement mental health and welfare.

But the lives of people have to be the overriding factor to be taken into account.

It is not rocket science to realise that a child coming from a family with Covid infection, which may be asymptomatic, will pass the virus on to other children who will take it home to more families.

And it is an absolute disgrace that teachers, many of whom are over 50, are not given the same priority for vaccination as care workers.

What is wrong with cancelling the February school half-term holiday and taking a week off the early Easter break this year so that schools may start later this winter?

The trouble with our Government is that it does too little too late.

Is it waiting to see whether a school has such widespread infection that it has to close after it has infected most of the community?

Elizabeth Nash

via email

Brexit

Ignore the lies and enjoy breaking free

Happy New Year 2021 and Happy Independence Day to the UK as we break free from the EU.

The government has delivered what the people voted for and also clinched a good deal, mission accomplished.

Sadly the scaremongering about Brexit continues.

Firstly, Jeremy Corbyn misleads the public saying that workers rights and human rights are being undermined. This is completely untrue and our rights are enshrined in UK legislation which existed long before the EU.

Then a correspondent (Your Say, January 2) claims that the NHS is on the table for negotiations to be sold off to the US. This is completely untrue and I seem to recall local Labour candidates peddling this baseless lie during the election campaign.

Brexit is not a threat to the NHS and such scaremongering should be dismissed.

Let’s start this new year by embracing our freedom from the EU and look forward to a brighter future.

Coun Christian Cox

Blackpool