Dear Republicans, I’m sorry your party is anti-science
26 October 2008
by
lolife
Filed under
Politics + Science
Phil Plait is miffed and I totally understand why. Every time he posts about the latest anti-science bullshit in the news, some dumb shit whines about how Phil should stick to science and leave politics alone.
Science IS politics. In the US, the federal government pays for nearly 100% of astronomy research.
Further, politics on issues involving science need to be influenced by scientists! Scientists have a duty, in my opinion, to speak their scientific opinion on the issues of the day. Not a right, a duty. The same is true of every industry, we need to hear from economists on economics and oil men on drilling policy. That’s just obvious. So when we hear from Phil Plait or any other scientist on science-related politics, thank them even if you disagree with them.
My suspicion is that 99.5% of the people that complain to Phil (and others, including me at Slacker Astronomy) are Republicans. They don’t like the views of their party or candidate trashed and they feel insulted that their views are being ridiculed.
Good! The prime fucking directive, as far as I’m concerned, is that you be able to articulate and defend your views. Otherwise answer “Don’t know”. ‘Cause if you are going to act like you have a valid opinion you better be able to tell us why that is so.
I know many Republicans who are not anti-science. But the Republican party as a whole is on the wrong side of many scientific issues. They pander to religious people and they ridicule the accepted views of science. They get what they deserve from people like Phil Plait.
It’s probably happening a little already, but science-minded Republicans should absolutely demand that their party jettison their anti-science schtick. Evolution is the obvious example, but the lunacy of young Earth creationism, hysteria about embryonic stem cells, denial of humanity’s obvious influence on Earth’s climate and the utter failure of abstinence-only sex ed to prevent pregnancy and disease are other examples where Republicans put ideology ahead of generally accepted science.
27 October 2008 @ 9:08 am
Look what happened to the scientific opinion on global climate change. The Republican admin stomped all over it and there is still significant ignorance on this issue.
Stem cell research? stomped politically.
the world is indeed flat in the minds of the far right.
11 November 2008 @ 3:16 pm
Come on man – there’s TONS of bad science going on in the left too. It’s not a republicans vs. democrats thing.
Think about the green movement as the left’s equivalent of Right-wing evangelicals. While there are lots of sensible Green people, there are also lots of insanely backward and dumb things being done in the name of protecting “the environment” that ignore science, don’t contribute to the good of the environment, and sometimes even harm it.
And that’s just one example – I’m sure we could find many others.
Republicans aren’t the problem. Democrats aren’t the problem.
The problem is ignorant people either abusing science to make a point or flat out ignoring it. The problem is people who care more about winning and being “right” than the truth. The problem is people so caught up in sides and positions, categories and teams, that they’re not thinking about the facts, the data, and the choices themselves. And when you blame “republicans” rather than calling out the ignorant segments of that party, and when you act like that’s the only segment in society who’s wrong, then you’re part of that problem.
Just help me out here. Let’s talk about ignorant people and the problems the cause and not be so narrow as to assume the entirety of their wrongness is contained in their political perspective.
11 November 2008 @ 3:42 pm
Hi, rjowen, and welcome.
Yes, of course you are correct to a degree. My point, which I think is valid, is that the Republican party sort of officially coddles anti-science people because they want the votes and they know that scientists tend to be liberals. I think there is a purposeful anti-science agenda in the Republican party. That is a different thing than some Democrats being anti-science and some not.
So I do agree with you that anti-science bullshit, regardless of party, should be shunned. PZ and Phil both give shit to the anti-vaxxers, for example, like Robert Kennedy. But the Right wants to be on the wrong side of science for political reasons.
And PS the Democrats are a deeply flawed party. I’m not a cheerleader for the Democrats, per se. I am a cheerleader for liberals!