Re: [APD] US is Anti-Science?

[Jerry Baker <jerry at bakerweb_biz>]

Bill D wrote:
> Tom W. said, in part,  "I don't understand why the US is becoming so hostile
> toward science."
> 
> I wonder if it is?  I don't have the numbers, but I'm sure that each year
> the government, thanks to the taxpayers, spends more money on basic and
> applied research, and I don't hear anybody complaining about that.  Private
> industry also spends a lot on science, perhaps more than government.   I
> know that people eagerly consume the latest scientific medical breakthroughs
> and call for more.  So I don't see much evidence of any "hostility".

Have you been watching the "Intelligent Design" fiasco at all? How about 
banning research that conflicts with the current administration's 
ideology? The best is having energy industry lobbyists doctor scientific 
reports to remove, or discount any mention of global warming.

> What I do see, though, is a hostility to any public manifestation of
> religion or religious belief.  I don't care for that, but if some people
> want to feel that way that's up to them.  The problem comes about when those
> folks, a minority but a vocal one, attempt to force their views on me,
> either directly or through lobbying to change public policy.

Requiring that the government, or agents of the government, not engage 
in religious activities while engaging in official activities is not 
forcing a view on anybody. In fact, it is the prohibition of forcing any 
view on anybody.

> Science does not explain everything.  Neither does religion.  People who
> grow up learning about only one or the other become less than they might
> have been.

Saying science doesn't explain everything is like saying that detective 
work doesn't solve every crime. It sure doesn't, but that doesn't mean 
there is some other explanation outside of the realm of science. It just 
means there wasn't enough evidence, or someone didn't read the evidence 
right ... yet.

> There are other opinions, of course.  I respect them and I don't try to
> change them.

That's the important part.

-- 
Jerry Baker
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