This Op-Ed appeared in the politcal web site “Roll Call” a couple of days ago, which I thought was worth a read.  Michael S Lubell is a professor of physics at the City University of New York and the director of public affairs of the American Physical Society. The article revolves around the point that Americans love and embrace science until it’s outcomes challenge their deeply held religious beliefs, then that love can quickly turn to rejection.
Hat tip to Paul Cottle on this.
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You wonder why the country is in a downturn and then a moron like this guy makes it all clear. The ongoing bias and anti-science brand shoved at individuals who question the big bang and other hypothetical tales surpasses simple stupidity. He says,†These are scientific facts, not idle theories. But a large fraction of the public doesn’t accept them as true.†No kidding, a very large and growing number of people don’t accept the spoon feeding of secularist BS and have the audacity to research the matter. Recognizing facts which invalidate much of the former hypothesis has led many scientist to recant theories such as the big bang and unguided common ancestry with dirt, not religion. The insinuation only secular scientist can produce food, cheaper appliances, etc is becoming seen as ignorance at its highest level.
Today the are more students taught secular humanist theories as science than every before. If there is a downhill trend in America’s innovative spirit, the chips fall on today’s demotivating atheistic educational system, not believers in a younger universe.
Big Bang Busted http://rense.com/general53/bbng.htm
I finally got around to reading the article. Thanks. He made some great points.
Unfortunately, our society has always had a pretty vocal anti-intellectual component. Add to that the ability of modern communication systems to allow people with any harebrained idea or belief system to connect and spread their foolishness and it’s fairly easy to see how come so many people believe so much drivel to be “true”.
The on-going privatization of our education system is not helping matters any, either. I explain to my high school students that I’m not interested in teaching them “stuff”, I’m more interested in teaching them how to learn, think and analyze. It is a struggle, to be sure, but more than worth the effort.