Found here. My comments in bold.
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With a fervor bordering on religious zealotry, the author defends the high morality and matchless majesty of SCIENCE. And he insists we all bow to his god, the source of all hope and purpose.
This man is not a scientist, he's a partisan wrapping himself in the trappings of science. Nothing in his article is an expression of science.
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The War on Science is more than a skirmish over funding, censorship and “alternative facts.” It’s a battle for the future, basic decency and the people we love. (We can state with confidence that it is a war over funding. It's a political war, not a war on science. It's an ideological war. It's a war about worldviews. It's a war about power. And the Left, beholden to extremists and activists and those who think that every solution is found in government, are on the warpath.)
This post originally appeared at The Macroscope.
Make no mistake: There is a War on Science in America.
The White House not only denies obvious, empirical facts on a regular basis, but they have invented the Orwellian concept of “alternative facts.” In the past, we simply called them “lies,” but now they are used in the world’s most powerful office. And that should scare all of us. ("Alternative facts" is simply an alternate interpretation of information. And when this happens, and the Left is challenged on their narrative, they react with hysteria, shouting down heretics and unleashing barrages of invective and name-calling.)
This attack on science, and on knowledge itself, (Kellyann Conway used the phrase "alternative facts" in reference to the number of people attending Trump's inauguration. She was not attacking science or knowledge. She wasn't talking about science funding or global warming. She wasn't discussing pollution or nuclear waste.)
goes beyond anything we have seen in America before. (Hyperbole.)
And it is not only dangerous to science, it is dangerous to our nation and the world. (It's a crisis! it's critical! The whole world is in danger!)
What’s worse is that the White House and many members of Congress aren’t just anti-fact, they are against the pursuit of facts, and have tried to place draconian restrictions on what federal scientists can research, publish and even discuss. (Granting the author's point for a moment, this is the nature of government funding. When you accept a place at the government teat, you accept also the strings that are attached. If you don't want those restrictions, don't take the funding.)
And god knows what will happen to our nation’s long-standing investments in research and science education. (That is, these things can't exist unless government is funding them.
And why, might we ask, is the U.S. lagging behind in science education? Government schools are failing and falling apart, despite record funding. How is it possible that stopping these investments [which incidentally, aren't even being discussed] could make things any worse than they are now?)
But the War on Science has inspired a mighty backlash. Scientists are standing up against politicians. We’ve seen rogue Twitter accounts, hundreds of op-eds and scientists announcing they are running for office. There will even be a March for Science on April 22. It’s a popular uprising, complete with heroes in white lab coats and park ranger uniforms. (And here is the tacit admission that it's not about science, it's actually about politics.)
But when I see these signs of protest, I feel worried. Is this the right approach? Are we truly connecting with the American people?
Sure, people are taking a stand against “alternative facts,” cuts to research, and muzzling scientists. But what are we for?
To truly connect with people, I think scientists and their supporters need to paint a positive vision of the future, where science re-affirms its moral authority, articulates how it will help us and advances a noble cause. (Whaaa? Is this man talking about his religion?)
In other words: What is the higher purpose of American science? And what will scientists work for, live for and fight for? (Sounds like the Crusades.)
I can’t answer for other scientists, but here’s what I will fight for.
1. Keeping America Great, as It’s Always Been. Until recently, science has enjoyed deep, bipartisan support from elected officials. (No, actually, science funding. Two separate concepts.)
Thoughtful leaders (Thoughtful leaders are those leaders who agree with the author.)
on both sides of the aisle — from Teddy Roosevelt to Truman, Kennedy to Nixon, George H.W. Bush to Obama — have used science to guide our country forward. (That is, it isn't about discovery, facts, or the Scientific Method. No, it's about setting the political direction of the country.)
And those leaders knew what I know: America is at its best when science is accepted and helps us do great things. Science helped us defeat fascism, win the Cold War, end polio, feed the world, land on the moon and crack the code of life. What could it do next? (No, people did those things. Some of them with great sacrifice. Most were people from all walks of life who were pressed into service. "SCIENCE" did nothing because it can do nothing. Science is not an agenda, a program, or a prescription.)
Our future is dependent on science. Will we embrace science again, solve the challenges of our time and thrive? Or will we turn our backs on science and fail being a great nation, dooming our future? (Science is our savior. Apparently, no government funding = no science, and we're doomed. See? It's a religion. Only SCIENCE can save us. Only SCIENCE has the answers.)
The greatness of America is strengthened by science — it helps us lift people up, improve the human condition, and build a better world. (And it killed 146,000 people in Hiroshima. SCIENCE is not virtuous, noble, or moral. It cannot be. It is a tool that can be wielded for good or evil.)
2. The Future of Our Planet. Science shows us the magnificence of our world. Our oceans hold beautiful coral reefs, bursting with life, gleaming through azure waters. Tropical rainforests teem with creatures, sights and sounds. Here in California, we have giant redwoods, reaching skyward, drenched in mist. And off our shores, there are colossal whales, drifting in rich waters, raising their young and singing their ethereal songs.
Through the lens of science, these wonders stir the mind, inspiring awe and wonder. (I guess we who are lowlifes cannot appreciate the beauty of nature apart from SCIENCE.)
They awaken our hearts and souls. We instinctively want to share them with the people we love. And preserving them is the greatest gift we can give our children. (That is a moral prescription not provided by science. The author is imposing his morality on science to make it serve his agenda according to his worldview.)
But science also tells us that these wonders are at risk from widespread habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Science shows us the planet is in trouble, even if many politicians ignore the evidence. (That is, science is not a method of discovery, it is a vehicle for political change, with our white-coated overlords demanding that we do what they say.
However, the discipline of science is entirely different than the application of science.)
But all is not lost. Science shows us ways of building a sustainable future — by reinventing our energy system, agriculture and cities. Science can build a future where people and nature thrive together, for generations to come. Ignoring science will doom us to an impoverished, degraded world. Our children deserve better than that, and only science points the way forward. (This rhetoric is getting tiresome. It is a tyrant who says his way is the only way.)
3. The Human Family. Science also tells us that we are all part of the same species, a single human family. While some try to divide us along national, gender, racial and ethnic lines, science shows us that this is folly. (No it doesn't.)
Science teaches us that national boundaries mean nothing. (No. No it doesn't.)
They are arbitrary lines etched into maps by people in power. (No they are not.)
But the Earth doesn’t care. The air, the oceans and the species we share this planet with need no passports. Only humans worry about that. Frank Borman, an Apollo astronaut, said it well: “When you’re…looking back on earth…you’re going to get a concept that maybe this really is one world and why the hell can’t we learn to live together like decent people.”
Science also tells us that our old ideas about gender, sexuality and race are wrong. (No it doesn't.)
We should love who we want, the way we want. (A moral statement, not a scientific one.)
This is normal. (What is normal? On what basis do we decide normal? Why should we accept the author's moral prescriptions? Because he's a SCIENTIST?)
What’s not is homophobia and racism. (Moral posturing.)
Science teaches us that these are small-minded prejudices, not worthy of our species. (No it doesn't.)
While some try to divide us along national, gender, racial and ethnic lines, science shows us that this is folly. (No it doesn't.)
4. The People I Love. If we live long enough, many of the people we love will fall ill and some will die. Science may not always offer a cure, but it offers a chance. Or a way to manage pain. Or the hope that, someday, others won’t have to face such a fate.
This is personal for me. It probably is for you.
When I was a teenager, my mother died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a truly terrible disease. Science didn’t give her a cure, or even a treatment, but I am hopeful that, someday, science will help another family.
And we all know people who are battling cancer. For me, a dearest friend, a valued co-worker and a young niece are facing the disease and an uncertain future. But science is giving them the tools to fight — including the latest in laser surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Science is giving the people I love a fighting chance, and I will always be grateful to the scientists who gave them this gift.
Let’s be clear: those who conduct a War on Science are also declaring war on the people we love. (Now his rhetoric has descended into the ridiculous.)
If they get their way, people will die. (Astonishing hyperbole.)
And I’m going to fight to make sure that doesn’t happen. You should too. (Imposing morality. He not only knows what's morally best for him, he also knows what's morally best for you.)
But the War on Science affects all of us, and the things we hold most dear — including the greatness of America, the future of our planet, the decency of our society and the people we love. Without unbiased facts, an informed citizenry and the free and open pursuit of truth, we cannot be the America we want to be.It’s easy to think that the War on Science is a secondary concern in our unfolding political crisis. After all, the very fabric of American democracy is unraveling, and it might seem we don’t have time to worry about science.
The pursuit of science offers us hope — hope that we will be a great nation, living on a thriving world, as decent, kind people, with the people we love. (Is the author talking about God again?)
That is a cause I’m willing to work for, live for, fight for and yes, even die for. And I know I’m not alone. (This ought to trouble any sober-minded individual. This man is confused about science, morality, government, and religion. He is unable to separate them from his leftism. He makes logical leaps from "facts" to "what we say are facts" to "you should do what we say about these facts" in breathtakingly dogmatic ways.
He doesn't sound like a scientist. Purpose, destiny, goodness, and love have nothing to do with science.
This man is an ideologue, and is using science as a convenient bludgeon. If science is in trouble, it's his fault, not Trump's.)
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