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Re: [Phys-l] The Perils of American Stupidity



I take strong issue with these posts characterizing the American Right as stupid and/or ignorant.
These is often the characterization made by people on the Left. Since I am a Conservative and a
scientist, it is my experience that these characterizations are largely false. While it is true that there is
somewhat less support for anti-global warming initiatives on the Right, it is largely because of the
politization of climate science and sloppy science. The Right is not dominated by the Religious Right
presently, rather it is dominated by the Tea Party ideals, which are primarily based on the Constitution
in its present form, the idea of smaller, more efficient government, a properly-regulated capitalist
economy, and reduced government spending. The majority of Americans are anti-abortion, but neither
side of the argument is stupid for holding the belief. The Tea Party is not promoting Creationism, nor
Intelligent Design. I have also failed to see the anti-intellectualism in the Tea Party that you all have
spoken about. You are speaking in stereotypes and repeating things you've heard without taking time
to find out what people really think.




On 9 Nov 2010 at 16:46, Marty Weiss wrote:

The original post was NOT written by the phys-l poster. Here is the original title:

The Perils of American Stupidity

Written by John Berthelsen Friday, 29 October 2010 A rising tide of
willful ignorance threatens the foundations of the United States

Berthelsen is editor of the Asia Sentinel, a web-based publication, founded in 2006. The author earlier worked for the Asian Wall Street Journal and later for a bank, so he is not some random blogger.

Evidently, this is how the rest of the world looks at the United States; a sad commentary on the goings-on in our country, being taken over by an anti-intellectual / anti-scientific mind set. Of course, one could argue that this country has long been anti-intellectual. The recent derision of so-called *east-coast and *left-coast* elites* reflects only the most virulent of these attacks and now that the Tea Partiers are in power we will see a lot more such antics coming from Washington and certain areas of the country known for ignorant, bigoted, and anti-scientific attitudes. It is a sad time for progress in science and global relations as we turn more parochial and inward in our official thinking and attitude.

Marty





I
On Nov 9, 2010, at 4:15 PM, John Clement wrote:


There is currently a linkage between being anti-religious, environmentalist,
Evolution, research based education, and many other left wing issues such as
abortion in the minds of many people.

This was not true in the not so
distant past when environmentalism was non partisan and supported by both
parties. But now one party has definitely gotten into bed with the
fundamentalist religious right.

So I would agree that the tone of the orginal post was very political, but
the issues of impending witch hunts against science is unfortunately
political.
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