I suppose everyone knows that many of the Republicorp members of Congress believe that climate change (see the science of geophysics) is a fabrication invented by liberals as part of a plot to take control of the world. They also hold that the planet is 10,000 years old (so much for geology). They deny natural selection (cross off biology). They believe that a snake once talked and that a virgin once gave birth. These beliefs are common in the Heartland.
Many Heartlanders probably subscribe to related beliefs: that the blood of a black chicken will cure shingles; that the root of rhubarb worn on a string around your neck will prevent stomach aches; that cutting your hair in the dark of the moon will make you go bald; that burying a chicken head under a full moon will cure warts; etc.
Wittgenstein once said that if he met someone who claimed that he did not believe in science, Wittgenstein would not know how to continue the conversation. That's where we are today. It has become clear that a sizable number of us in the heart of our heartland reject science while, at the same time, using science to make weapons of war. We share this contradiction with certain jihadists.
The shock some of us feel, I think, comes from the realization that so many of our elected representatives reject geophysics, geology, biology, modern medicine, facts in general, and rational thought. These are the people with whom President Obama is attempting to converse. It is his job to represent them (and everyone else in the country), but how--unlike Wittgenstein--will it be possible for Obama to continue the conversation?
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