We need to be able to trust the experts
Experts have a responsibility to guard their own authority by not abusing that authority and not openly lying to the people.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health "experts" told university students to reduce the risk of contracting the novel coronavirus by wearing masks during sex. Anyone who knows anything about how a highly contagious respiratory virus spreads knew this was absolute nonsense and would do nothing to slow the spread, but university "experts" dared not cross the cult of sexual licentiousness by telling people not to "hook up" during a global pandemic. However, you could send men with guns to accost people who were nowhere near anyone else, outside in a public park.
The same refusal to recognize scientific fact was on full display in 2022 when people were warning it was "dangerous" to tell homosexual men to practice restraint at a time when highly promiscuous homosexual sex was the primary means of spreading Monkeypox. It was absurdities like this that have eroded trust in experts among large parts of the population.
This is unfortunate, because experts do play an important role in forming public policy by advising policymakers. When "experts" beclown themselves by refusing to tell the truth about COVID-19 and Monkeypox, they erode trust. Once you destroy that trust, it is not confined to obvious absurdities, but causes mistrust and suspicion across the board. This is why experts need to avoid politicizing their recommendations. The reality is there are people who know a lot more than the general population, and we need to rely on those people for knowledge we do not have. That is why I go to a mechanic rather than try to fix my car by myself.
But while experts do provide important counsel, we do not live in a technocracy. We live in a constitutional republic where decisions are made by elected officials put in place by the voters. Demanding we submit all public policy to "the experts" undermines democracy and the authority of properly elected civil magistrates. Elected officials should listen to and consider advice from experts, but the responsibility lies with them and they have to consider many factors that are beyond the reach of experts in specific fields.
This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. Slowing and limiting the spread of the virus was important, but there were other considerations as well. We tanked the global economy with lockdowns that were too harsh. "Stay at home" orders led to depression that caused an increase in "deaths of despair" from alcoholism, suicide and drug overdoses. The debate over lockdowns was never about lives against the economy. It was always about lives vs. lives.
So yes, listen to the experts across multiple fields and have the humility to admit that we do not know everything about all subjects. This is especially important in life-or-death medical situations. We could all develop more humility in that regard. But the "experts" also need to be trustworthy and not tailor their advice to political considerations. They have a responsibility to guard their own authority by not abusing that authority. "Trust the experts" is a two-way street, and cannot be the only consideration in forming public policy.