Respect for Science

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the fellow who brought Turkey into the modern world, early in the 20th Century, transforming a backward and constantly warring part of the Ottoman Empire into a stable, secular, industrial nation.  What Atatürk said at left lies at the core of what made him one of the most successful world leaders in human history.

One of the surest signs of societal decay is the erosion of scientific thinking at its core.  This, of course, was as true 2500 years ago as it is today, a fact that becomes clear when we look at the ancient Athenian democracy and the most successful epochs within the Roman Empire, and then compare them to the degradation of the Dark Ages, the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, etc.

Moreover, the removal of science from policy-making is an essential tool of the would-be dictator.  The last four years of U.S. history came as a cold slap in the face to a nation that has used reason, science in particular, to fashion itself into the single most prosperous country in the history of humankind.

Yet amid all the tragedy, this wholesale rejection of science has its lighter side. When Trump’s advisor told the nation that her boss relies on “alternative facts,” the world found this hysterically funny. When a reporter challenged the White House Press Secretary’s assertion that the president has done a fantastic job in handling the pandemic, he asked, “How is this possible when the U.S. has 4.25% of the world’s population and more than 21% of COVID-related deaths?” she replied, “Oh, we simply don’t use those numbers.”

Obviously, the Biden administration will repair this to whatever degree possible, but it will require a great length of time to repair the shame and humiliation that our nation has suffered at Trump’s hands.  Yes, the world has gotten a good laugh at the expensive of every American, but at the same time it feels a deep sense of sorrow to see the depth to which the United States has fallen.