The UCLA Medical School recently axed a planned lecture that aimed to pin the blame for America’s opioid crisis squarely on “whiteness.” Yes, you heard that right. Just when you thought the corridors of academia couldn’t possibly veer further off into the realm of the absurd, UCLA’s med school makes a leap for the progressive narrative crown. Scheduled to be enlightened by Dr. Helena Hansen’s insights on how whiteness supposedly fuels the opioid epidemic, students were instead bait-and-switched just days prior to an entirely different topic, shrouded in an in-person attendance only policy, effectively muzzling any broader scrutiny.
As we grapple with an opioid epidemic that has claimed over half a million American lives, the need for medical professionals rooted in empirical science and compassionate, unbiased care has never been greater. Yet, here we are, witnessing a prestigious medical institution gamble away its credibility on the altar of identity politics. It’s a disservice not just to the students entrusted with its teachings but to the very fabric of our healthcare system.
What’s happening at UCLA is extremely concerning. From mandating students pay homage to “Mama Earth” to pushing readings that advocate for the abolition of borders as a public health measure, UCLA’s medical curriculum seems more concerned with minting activists than physicians. Furthermore, the school’s sudden pivot from a lecture that sought to racialize an American health crisis to a nebulous discussion on “BioSocial Futures” is not just puzzling; it’s emblematic of an institution wrestling with its own conscience.
It’s a stark warning of the depths to which ideological indoctrination has infiltrated medical education. The course med students are required to endure, brimming with progressive tales of white settler colonialism and secular humanism, is a red flag for anyone who believes in the sanctity of medical science free from the chains of political agendas.
The unapologetic march of woke ideology through our educational institutions is alarming, but nowhere is it more dangerous than in the fields tasked with safeguarding our health. The prescription UCLA’s medical school needs is a hefty dose of reality and a return to a curriculum that prioritizes the Hippocratic Oath over political correctness. It’s high time for medical education to extricate itself from the grip of progressive politics and recommit to the noble pursuit of healing, guided by science and empathy, not ideology.
