I have a relative who has lived with post-polio syndrome her whole life and think the polio vaccine has done far more good than harm while Kennedy questions the value of any vaccine.

Many people think he's antivax as a starting point, yet I find it more accurate to say that Kennedy questions the value of any vaccine that hasn't undergone strict regulations and rigorous safety testing the way other drugs are required to do so, specifically the legal action he took against HHS in regards to childhood vaccines.

I've been wearing my Kennedy 2024 pin everywhere these days. I'm convinced that we can do our part to heal the polarization by being willing to own our stances, while role modeling nuance and critical thinking. And to not buy into black/white thinking that feeds groupthink and conformity (i.e. RFK Jr is a racist, anti-vaxxer, etc). Wherever we stand on the political/media bias spectrum, I see how easy it is to self-sabotage our ability to generate our own news, especially the type of real journalism that considers multiple perspectives of any complex topic or person. I'm glad you're inviting a more refined conversation about Kennedy with this blog post! Thank you for this.