In the early stages of the pandemic, I wrote a column here about the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

The pushback from readers was immediate, despite the fact that I had quoted several doctors who had seen success using the protocol in healing critically ill patients. I wrote about a Democrat congresswoman who had begged her doctors to prescribe her ivermectin as she entered a critical phase of the illness, but they refused.

Her husband was able to source the ivermectin for her by calling in favors, and within hours she could feel she was on her way to recovery. She claims it saved her life.

Today, just six years later, ivermectin is available over the counter and by prescription in several states, including Florida. And studies are now underway, including by the National Institutes of Health, to determine whether the drug is able to help treat cancer, along with other off-label drugs, as some patients have claimed.

What concerns me is the number of people who believed the bad press about ivermectin–a Nobel Prize-winning drug which also has an incredible and long-running safety record. How many people died from COVID when a potential cure was being obscured by our pandemic government and the medical establishment? And also by the press, who tried to convince you ivermectin was just for horses? A simple search would have revealed that ivermectin is an award-winning drug used by millions of people safely around the world for more than five decades.

A majority of Americans refused to even do a simple Internet search but relied on other people to tell them what to think.

My point in dredging this all up again is to have a serious conversation about thinking for ourselves. We can no longer count on institutions and governments to tell us the truth when they often have a vested interest in the outcomes.

Consider the old food pyramid, which supposedly guided Americans toward healthier food choices. It emphasized lowering fat intake and increasing carbohydrates; it placed 6-11 servings of grains at the base and did not distinguish between refined and whole carbohydrates or set clear limits on added sugars. It was developed through a process that included agricultural input, while the USDA clearly promoted U.S. farm products.

During the decades the pyramid shaped public eating patterns, the United States saw significant rises in obesity and related chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer. That pyramid has been revised today, but most Americans ignored the dissenting chorus over the decades telling us what a healthy diet should really look like–more whole foods, fewer carbs, and way less sugar.

Thinking for ourselves has never been more important. Your health quite simply depends on it.

We saw bad governmental advice in the 2008 financial crisis, when major institutions and regulators reassured the public that markets were stable even as risk piled up in plain sight; by the time the system cracked, millions had lost homes, savings, and livelihoods. The people who questioned what they were being told–who looked past the headlines and into the numbers–were the ones who saw it coming.

Another example sits in plain sight: the opioid crisis, where prescription pain medications were widely promoted and prescribed for years before the scale of addiction and overdose deaths became undeniable, leaving communities across the country dealing with the fallout.

And long before that, it was visible in everyday medicine: drugs approved, prescribed, and widely accepted, only to be pulled years later after broader use revealed risks that hadn’t been fully vetted. The pattern is consistent–guidance is issued, confidence is high, and only later does the full picture emerge. By then, the consequences are already real.

Common sense must prevail again, but it’s important that you figure out what’s best for you and your family. We know sunlight, in moderation, is imperative to human health, as are the benefits of nature and the outdoors. Where was that advice during the pandemic?

Consuming the food that God provides is the best approach to eating. Community and friendship are imperative to your emotional health. Good sleep and self-care should rule our lives rather than mindless entertainment and addictive technology.

We’re learning this the hard way and at a great cost. But once we untangle ourselves from the institutions that seem to have their own agendas to serve, and we begin thinking for ourselves, there will undoubtedly be a resurgence of good health and, hopefully, good fortune in our lives.

Seeing this clearly and believing it is half the battle.