with the world of blogging among us we have been flooded with “professionals”… or, at least, people who fancy themselves experts in some sort of arena. do a google search on any general topic and you’ll be linked to a mass of blogs (or comments on a blog) about that topic.
i’ve read a variety of articles about both the benefits and the potential harms of such an uprising. granted, most of my reading has been put out by the professional media (time magazine), so their take is how people are loosing out on experts that are backed by some sort of accountability. for example, if time interviews or features an expert and it comes out that the guy’s a fraud, someone other than the fraud has to answer to that. when “million little pieces” james whatever-his-forgotten-name-is was exposed, oprah did some work on her end to make things right. someone is trying their best to ensure accurate information.
but when a blogger posts opinion covered with the schmear of “expert” and it turns out that guy is a fraud, who is to blame but the reader? and how often are readers cross-referencing the vitaes of these experts? likely very few.
on the other hand, what a freeing thing for some experts, who don’t want to get in bed with big media, to be given a voice and an audience. i think there are folks who want to share their talents and wisdom but don’t want to have to find an agent. what a wonderful thing.
but it puts us information-seekers in quite a quandry. for example, my current target is finding info on the H1N1 vaccine. i’ve never been a fan of the flu shot – i’m much more of the “grow your immunity the natural way” camp. i think that anti-bacterial goo is the devil, it will kill us in our sleep. that being said, i’m now living with a person who goes to a school and is exposed to hundreds of dirty little hands, surely not washed, who will bring home his germy-ness and expose our entire family. sure, jj will build up quite the immunity with his exposure, but as for me and my household, we will surely be subservient to sickness.
so what to do? flu shot or not? but here’s where my search for a good professional makes it difficult. of course the CDC is “highly recommending” the vaccination. why make it if you don’t recommend it (yes, i think even the health driven departments of our governement operate largely as business rather than sheer public interest). and any general practicioner of medicine follows what the CDC says.
so i go in search of someone who doesn’t bow to the hand that feeds it… but how do i differentiate between someone with a medical background that knows a little something about a flu from pigs, from the nearest witch doctor from Byhalia, ohio? a lot of people out there simply “read a lot”, but do i want to put my health in their hands? yet yet, maybe the people with strong opinions contrary to popular press are getting stiffled.
i have learned in raising a child that when you have questions about what is “correct” you have to decide on something, then google it. you will surely find someone who both agrees and disagrees with it.
i guess only flu season will tell what the best solution will be….