# Why do conservatives take some diseases seriously, but not others? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 21, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012 "2021-07-21T22:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 97
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012/97 "2021-07-25T18:58:10Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Nitpick: it’s inevitable that people WHO DON’T COMPREHEND HOW SCIENCE WORKS are going to take it less seriously and have less trust in those who issue it. > > For someone who understands science and reason, experts changing their guidance is exactly what you’d want to see as new evidence accumulates. The ‘experts’ who stubbornly cling to the old orthodoxy are the ones to watch out for. Here’s another example of experts changing their advice due to fads and pressure from industry, rather than good science: > [@Is the War On Addiction Becoming a War On Pain?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-war-on-addiction-becoming-a-war-on-pain/946989/89): > > This was all occurring around the time that there was a HUGE push against undertreated pain! Pain was declared to be the “5th vital sign” and something that had to be assessed at every patient encounter. Doctors were taken to task (and sued) for being callous about our patients’ suffering: some legit and horrific, lots of it trivial. Regulatory agencies such as the JCAH required hospitals to have an individual pain control plan for every patient, and record of the patient’s pain was adequate… **QtM** clung to the old orthodoxy, and in time was proved correct. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-conservatives-take-some-diseases-seriously-but-not-others/947012)._