I lifted this from the fourth in a series on "why we vaccinate" from Elyse the Skepchick's blog. The first one is here.
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Here we go again.
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A skepchick is that rare creature, the skeptic who is both female and desirable. She is generally quite popular, usually due to her appealingly large intellect, her quick wit, or just her ability to stand everyday interaction with skeptical men.
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While this is a strong message, it is one that is problematic: older generations die. If the anti-vax movement had started 10 years from now, this commercial might not be able to be made.
The generations that had to deal with a world without vaccines had life experiences that few in today's world can even fathom. The current generation - myself included, obviously - cannot appreciate the full scope of a world that we don't know.
apologies to Ulmud, but I'm in no mood to criticize this for anything. we're in a fight and we live today. so you do what works today to save children's lives today. We don't live or work in hypothetical situations. If videos of grandmas and babies and soft lighting and music convince moms to do the right thing for their kids, then I support videos of grandmas and babies and soft lighting and music.
I don't think Ulmud is saying we shouldn't use this because it may not be as valuable in 10 years. (Frankly, I'd be willing to debate that point too.) But I'm not about to apologize for the amazing track record of success vaccines have.
Emotion is not exactly not reason. Facts are what they are, but you do need to know how to weight them to make a reasonable decision. Emotion is a big part of how we assign and measure that weight.