天美传媒

Say fact-based approaches are needed to head off Covid-19, climate change effects and other major threats

VATICAN CITY -- Speaking at the historic Casina Pio IV in the Vatican Gardens, UMass President Marty Meehan today said that democracy and countless lives are threatened by those 鈥渨illing to weaponize deceit and stand truth on its head.鈥�

鈥淪ome say that 鈥榯he truth hurts鈥� -- but lying kills,鈥� Meehan said during the opening session of a two-day workshop organized by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS), a scholarly body that brings together world-renowned academics from multiple denominations, continents and backgrounds to study pressing issues of the day. Meehan was joined at the workshop by .

The and is being held to examine 鈥渢he growing disregard for facts鈥� evidenced by some public officials and elsewhere in society.

Meehan points to 鈥済reat challenges鈥� and high stakes

鈥淲e find ourselves living in a period in history that demands clear, honest, scientifically guided responses to existential threats like the Covid 19 pandemic and climate change,鈥� said Meehan. 鈥淏ut as great as that need is, we see so many instances of elected officials and policymakers failing to adequately address the great challenges of our times.鈥�

Meehan added: 鈥淲e see science providing us with answers and approaches but too often, the lifelines science provides us are brushed aside or ignored. Too frequently, our elected officials fail us, elevating artful pandering and dishonesty over real solutions.鈥�

Sua虂rez-Orozco: We need to rescue truth

Sua虂rez-Orozco noted that truth is under assault across domains and that higher education must play a crucial role in society鈥檚 response.

鈥淔rom vaccinations to climate change, truth-seeking and truth-telling often seem Quixotic pursuits,鈥� he said. 鈥淚ncreasingly, it feels like we are all lost denizens in a dark empire of 鈥榩ost-truth,鈥� where facts and their representation are secondary to emotion and personal preference.鈥�

鈥淎s public university leaders in the state that invented public education, we are especially concerned with advancing truths that flow from historically constituted scholarly disciplines with shared schemas and agreed upon practices,鈥� he said.  鈥淭he very life form that animates the work of the modern research university 鈥� our DNA -- is the pursuit of truths.鈥�

鈥淚f we hope to succeed in taking on the existential battles of our times 鈥搕he COVID-19 pandemic, unchecked climate change, racialized inequality 鈥� we need to rescue truth from the wildfires of post-truth,鈥� Sua虂rez-Orozco added.

The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (established in 1994 by Pope John Paul II) and its sister Pontifical Academy of Sciences (which has its origins in 1603 with Galileo Galilei as its president) are among the 11 scholarly advisory groups serving the Catholic Church. PASS produces findings that assist Pope Francis and the Catholic Church in the development of social doctrine. Notable academicians affiliated with PASS include Joseph E. Stiglitz (Nobel Prize for Economics, 2001), Paulus Mzomuhle Zulu, and Niraja Gopal Jayal. Chancllor Sua虂rez-Orozco will be chairing a workshop session on the impact of the post-truth moment on health and the environment.

Global gathering

Panelists making presentations at the two-day gathering include:

• Harvard University Professor Naomi Oreskes, an internationally recognized expert on climate change and a leading voice on the role of science in society.
• Jeffrey Sachs, the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and one of the world鈥檚 most respected development economists.
• Seema Yasmin, a Stanford University professor and self-described 鈥渄isease detective,鈥� whose recent work has focused on debunking myths and misinformation relating to Covid-19.

Academics from the University of Oxford, the University of Bologna, Dublin City University and the University of Bristol also are scheduled to participate, as are Italian Minister for Justice Marta Cartabia and Monsignor Marcelo Sa虂nchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Meehan鈥檚 presentation draws from his 14 years of service in Congress and similar amount of time serving as chancellor of UMass Lowell and now as president of the five-campus University of Massachusetts system.

鈥淎 massive toll鈥�

Meehan, who served in the U.S House of Representatives from 1993 to 2007, told attendees that he confronted an opponent that specialized in deception and employed 鈥済rotesque tactics and practices鈥� when he took on the Tobacco industry while serving in Congress.

Meehan, who co-chaired the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health, was instrumental in bringing forward a lawsuit that resulted in major sanctions being levied against the Tobacco industry.

鈥淓ven though we scored this win, it is undeniably the case that the Tobacco industry鈥檚 disinformation campaign took a massive toll. It is clear that public understanding was muddied, that regulation was delayed and that many people got sick and died because of the industry鈥檚 desperate and deceitful tactics,鈥� he noted.

Meehan also discussed higher education鈥檚 pursuit of truth, noted the international dimension of the problem and analyzed former President Donald Trump鈥檚 unparalleled ability to deceive.

Confronting deception

The UMass president said no single action will turn the tide against the purveyors of deception, but said that various approaches, including a steadfast commitment to truth from sectors like the news media and higher education, public pressure, and professional sanctions like the Trump-related suspension of Rudolph Giuliani鈥檚 law licenses in New York state and Washington, D.C., could have an impact. Meehan said that increasing access to higher education is important given that 天美传媒s and universities view truth as crucial to scholarship and democratic citizenship.

鈥淲e need leaders who will lead. We need leaders who have the moral fiber to police themselves and others,鈥� Meehan said. 鈥淟ies are like poisoned fruit littering the landscape. They have an impact that we see every day.鈥�

Meehan added: 鈥淚n my view, it鈥檚 up to all of us to stand up to those who would place lives and democracy at risk. We still have time, but the clock is ticking.鈥�