THE TWO LEFTS

I've been thinking about where I fit in the political left. Recently I realized that I exist in that part of the left that respects peer-reviewed science. When I think of science deniers, I think of the Republicans, the climate change deniers, the evolution and DNA rejectionists, and so on. But in the North Bay area,  I find vaccine refuseniks, fluoride deniers and Lefties who fear electric meters etc. 

I'm not saying that the far right fringe and the far left fringe are equals. In much of the country the far right owns the Republican party, a major political power, while the far left is, for the most part, powerless. 

Activists from the left in my town have begun a campaign to end the fluoridation of our local drinking water. Fluoridation is strongly recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General, the World Health Organization,  the National Cancer Institute and the American Dental Association as the single most effective dental health measure to prevent tooth decay in poor children. It's a settled matter in the scientific community, but some voters, who mean well, simply can't differentiate between settled science and junk science.