I used to think the Green Party was pretty neat. In fact, when I first registered to vote, I was torn between registering for the Green Party and the Democratic Party. Although I’m not entirely happy with the Democratic Party, of course, I’m still happy I didn’t register as a Green. Parts of their official platform are blatantly anti-science.
Section F of their platform, which describes their views on health care has some gems like these:
4. We support the teaching of holistic health approaches and, as appropriate, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other healing approaches.
…
10. Medical research must be increased, and alternative therapies actively sought, to combat diseases and eliminate their causes, especially cancer and HIV/AIDS.
…
12. Public policy needs to move in the direction of a voluntary, community-based mental health system that safeguards human dignity, respects individual autonomy, and protects informed consent. A wide variety of humane, effective, and empowering alternative and complementary approaches should be available for anyone who experiences a psychiatric problem or mental disability.
Now let me put this bluntly: “alternative” and “complementary” medicine is not simply called “medicine” because it either hasn’t been proven to actually work or because it has been effectively proven not to work. Despite this, the largest party left of the Democratic Party in the United States blatantly endorses wasting money on quackery. It just goes to show that being liberal doesn’t mean you’re rational.
