An Anti-Science President

When I was in college in the early sixties, our U. S. history introduction class learned about the Scopes Trial earlier in the century. It seemed that this was the last gasp of American fundamentalists regarding Darwin. We thought that the Scopes trial was a vestige of ignorance that would not be repeated in our public life again.

We were so wrong! Now we have an entire administration beholden to the Christian Right. When scientific knowledge is not compatable with so-called Christian perspectives (from an evangelical or fundamentalist perspective) it is put aside and public policy is formulated on the basis of faith and values.

An example of this is the "abstinence only" approach to sex education which the federal government apparently funds up to nearly one billion dollars annually. In a December 2004 Congressional study, it was found that some of the programs funded with these public monies teach, among other things, that the HIV virus can be transmitted through sweat and tears or that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide (see Gay and Lesbian Review, March - April 2005, p. 8).

Another example of the anti-scientific bias of the Bush administration is its refusal to deal seriously with global warming and to heed the warnings of the scientific community that time is running out in the battle against greenhouse gases. The Bush administration has refused to participate in the Kyoto protocol which would require cuts in carbon emissions on the basis that possible technological solutions to carbon emissions might be discovered.

Yet, the Financial Times on February 25, 2005 made the following statement: "'Carbon emitted now will stay around in the atmosphere for as much as a century,'" says Stephen Schneider of Standford University. Even if we stopped burning fossil fuels now, the effects of global warning would still worsen for up to 100 years. This latency means we cannot affort to wait, say climate experts." (Financial Times, February 25, 2005, p. 8).

Scientific consensus informs an huge number of critical public issues. The tendency of President Bush and his supporters in the Republican Party to simply sweep aside scientific consensus when convenient is frightening because the stakes are enormous. Sometimes, as in the discussions on sex education or education concerning the origins of the universe and life, scientific thought is pushed aside in favor of faith considerations. Sometimes, as in the discussions on global warming, scientific consensus is neglected by proposing an alternative supposedly scientific approach (developments of new technologies to combat carbon emissions).

I could go on and on and talk about other issues where anti-scientific bias results in faulty public policy (what about the battles around creationism in local school districts around the country and the witch hunts of teachers and school board members that have resulted?). But the point is that on many critical matters our leaders have chosen to ignore sound scientific thinking.

What to do? That is the question I am struggling with. The best thing, in my mind, is to begin as of now to be active advocating better policies (such as ratification of the Kyoto protocol). It doesn't seem too early to be politically active in the hopes of removing the Republicans from the White House in 2008. The anti-scientific bias is just one of a large number of reasons for wanting this to happen.

And if you are a person of faith--but not far-right--now is a time to try to reconcile just public policy, sound scientific evidence and socially conscious Christian values. We need to make clear that Falwell and Dobson and their constituencies are not the only Christians on the block who are concerned about this country.

What I Learned from Kim Phuc

She is petite and radiant on stage. Her name is Kim Phuc. I am with a friend at Clowes Hall on the Butler University campus hearing this 40-ish Vietnamese woman speak about her personal journey since the Vietnam War.

Of course, I have seen Kim Phuc. We have all seen Kim Phuc in the incredible picture taken by phtographer Huyng Cong Nick Ut that later won him a Pulitzer Prize. It was taken on June 8, 1972 of a little girl running and screaming from third degree burns inflicted from a napalm attack on her village. (If you do a Google search for Kim Phuc you can pictures--that will have to work until I figure out how to post pictures on this site.) That picture has always haunted me and seems to me to be one of the defining images of the Sixties.

I thought that Kim Phuc must be dead.

But tonight (February 15, 2005) she is very much alive. What happened?

Photographer Ut took her to a specialized hospital for burn victims in Saigon. From that point until adulthood, Kim Phuc had to undergo many operations. She still has scars from these operations. She still experiences much pain and during hot weather suffers because she cannot even sweat.

Her anger and confusion about what happened to her and others in her family left scars as well. Much of what Kim Phuc had to say to the Indianapolis audience had to do with moving from deep anger and resentment to forgiveness. In fact, her very presence evokes peace and harmony. Basically, Kim Phuc has struggled mightily with the question posed by Rabbi Kushner: Why do bad things happen to good people? She is not embittered but believes that she has been strengthened by her experiences.

As I was listening to Kim Phuc share her life, I thought of another survivor of great human evil, Nelson Mandela. He came out of apartheid's jails ready to create a new world, even ready to forgive his jailors.

Now Kim Phuc is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Culture of Peace for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. She has founded a foundation that funds international programs that assist child victims of warfare in several continents (www.kimfoundation.com). A book has been writen on Kim by Denise Chong: The Girl in the Picture: The Story of Kim Phuc, the Photograph and the Vietnam War, ISBN 0140280219. If you are interested, look for it in your bookstore or library.

Kim Phuc is not analytic. She doesn't dissect the world's political situation in great detail. She tells her own narrative of what happens to children (and adult survivors) of warfare. She spins a marvelous story of human transformation.

As we were sitting in Clowes Hall, child victims in Darfur, Iraq, Palestine and other scenes of intractable warfare were still screaming. With our now-embedded journalists we don't see scenes of human horror very often to remind us what war is really about.

Yet, in a very dark world, Kim Phuc spoke about her own transformation. And I was reminded that points of light can exist in even the darkest moments.

Welcome to The Blue Ogee

I always wanted to open a coffee shop or a combination coffee shop/independent book store called The Blue Ogee.

So what's an "ogee"? The Encarta Dictionary states that it is"an arch whose sides curve gently inward near the top and then curve upward steeply to meet in a point." When I finally get this blog up and running, I will post a picture of an ogee. In the meantime, look it up yourself in a dictionary or encyclopedia, if you are interested. Better yet, go to this link to see some examples of elegant ogees: www.ontarioarchitecture.com/ogee.html

You would enter this imaginary coffee shop/book store through an ogee arch painted blue. Inside, the lights would be subdued--but the blue-ness and simple furnishings and friendship of the staff (me) would encourage people to talk to each other about important things.

Economic reality doesn't let me open The Blue Ogee (for now, at least). But I have decided to create a virtual site where the same kinds of discussions might occur.

I don't see this site as a personal diary or journal. I envisage it more as a place where I can put out some of my ideas. These ideas would probably try to connect the personal and the public dimensions of our lives. I would like to post about spirituality, wholeness, politics, sexuality and the arts.

So this is an invitation. Walk through the imaginary blue arch and get your expresso and sit down and listen and talk. Bring your own narrative to the table but be open to other narratives.

The Blue Ogee is ready and open for business.