Post by AstroSmurf on Apr 25, 2006 16:13:39 GMT -4
NB: This thread is *going* to get political, so let's all try to stay on our best side, mmkay?
I suppose we've all read the news about the religious right attacking scientific findings that they finds contrary to their view of the world. The BA has written about it, here, and here (among other places), and there are numerous other places as well.
If you're still sceptical whether this degradation of science actually hurts someone, being for the most part an abstracted activity of a select few, I suggest you take a look at this article.
It's becoming increasingly clear that the people behind these insiduous changes have no interest in what the reality actually is, but prefer to impose their views on it instead. And the rest of us pay the consequences.
So far, it seems the most people have been able to accomplish is slow down the gradual creep of fundamentalism. The question is what we can do to turn the tide.
I'm not going to dictate what your choices are. I can only say that to me, watching and waiting is no longer an option. Personally, I am not a US citizen, so my options are limited to information and argumentation, but for those of you who are, there's the usual line of "contact your congress(wo)man". But this is not enough - our opponents are fueled by their convictions, and a casual effort to counter them seems doomed to fail.
If you want these underminings of science to stop, if you want to stop bigotry and fundamentalism from becoming even more dominant in politics and science, it seems to me that this requires an equal determination and effort in return. Inform. Argument. Write. As much as you have the time, or energy, or money for - I leave that up to you. But do something.
Thank you.
*steps off the soapbox*
I suppose we've all read the news about the religious right attacking scientific findings that they finds contrary to their view of the world. The BA has written about it, here, and here (among other places), and there are numerous other places as well.
If you're still sceptical whether this degradation of science actually hurts someone, being for the most part an abstracted activity of a select few, I suggest you take a look at this article.
It's becoming increasingly clear that the people behind these insiduous changes have no interest in what the reality actually is, but prefer to impose their views on it instead. And the rest of us pay the consequences.
So far, it seems the most people have been able to accomplish is slow down the gradual creep of fundamentalism. The question is what we can do to turn the tide.
I'm not going to dictate what your choices are. I can only say that to me, watching and waiting is no longer an option. Personally, I am not a US citizen, so my options are limited to information and argumentation, but for those of you who are, there's the usual line of "contact your congress(wo)man". But this is not enough - our opponents are fueled by their convictions, and a casual effort to counter them seems doomed to fail.
If you want these underminings of science to stop, if you want to stop bigotry and fundamentalism from becoming even more dominant in politics and science, it seems to me that this requires an equal determination and effort in return. Inform. Argument. Write. As much as you have the time, or energy, or money for - I leave that up to you. But do something.
Thank you.
*steps off the soapbox*