Carl Sagan Warned of Dire Impact of Science Ignorance and Antagonism

As bright of a man as Carl Sagan was, this was something that t would not take a rocket science to figure out.

When politicians, with an obvious hidden agenda (to protect those corporate sponsors and special interests that endorse them) begin to make a habit of making sweeping judgments and decisions with far reaching ramifications in field of science, over the opinions of scientists themselves, it's going to be bad news.

Sure enough, that is where we are heading right now. Creationists feel that they have all sorts of momentum, as do climate change minimizers and outright deniers. Never mind that the vast majority of the scientific community feels that these threats are real. So long as prominent politicians continue to lord over us and make these decisions, science is never going to get a fair shake.

Even if that means conspiracy theories abound, the fact of the matter is that politics has made a habit of trumping science here in the United States. It has become so commonplace, that we hardly even bat an eye anymore these days when Kansas, or other states, seriously consider introducing creationism as a science criteria for students to be introduced to.

Americans tend to be weak in certain subjects. We all know that they have some glaring weaknesses in geography, by and large. Not everyone, but most Americans struggle mightily, especially when it comes to that part of the world, the over 95% of land mass and populations, that lie outside of these American borders.

But Americans have also struggled quite a bit in the fields of math and science, as well. When you see the general assault on science that has become the flavor of the moment, it really is not a surprise. After all, there is not merely a distaste for scientists among the powers that be, but an outright antagonism and forced confrontation, based on irrationality.

Religion has it's place, but there is supposed to be a strict separation of church and state in the United States, whether many religious fundamentalists like it or not. And when we continually ignore these boundaries, and try to mold the country in the religious manner that we see fit, it is to the detriment of not just science in America but, ultimately, it's very ability to compete with the rest of the world in the obviously still mushrooming field of technological innovation.

Here is the link to the short video clip (a little over two minutes) of Carl Sagan warning about the poor attitudes and rather willful misunderstandings of our policy makers toward science. It's worth watching!



"A Science Icon Died 17 Years Ago. In His Last Interview, He Made A Warning That Gives Me Goosebumps." by Rajiv Narayan of Upworthy,

http://www.upworthy.com/a-science-icon-died-17-years-ago-in-his-last-interview-he-made-a-warning-that-gives-me-goosebumps-5?g=3