Every one of us can think of a recent time when science has been misrepresented by a politician, company spokesperson, or self-appointed expert. The issues are many. Vaccine safety. Global warming. Guns. Fracking. You might begin to think that in America, facts have always been subservient to hype.
But that simply isn’t the case. As we’ve done research to support the new Center for Science and Democracy at UCS, I’ve been surprised at how closely science and American democracy were intertwined from the very beginning of our great republic. From the very beginning, scientific values have been American values.
The framers of our Constitution embraced science and employed the power of reason– and even the laws of physics– to shape our great republic. So we put together a short video exploring the relationship between science and American Democracy, including what the Founding Fathers derived from Newton’s third law of motion:
We hope to use this video to get people to think about how science has made America great and how science can help keep America strong. But we know that more people need to see it. So with President’s Day coming up, I’m asking you to share this video with three people who you think should watch.
But wait – there’s more.
I want to know what you think about science and democracy. What’s your favorite example of a situation where policymakers utilized science to make our world better, or where government researchers applied science to improve our quality of life? Submit your example through the comments section of this post. It could be on any issue, from air pollution to the food supply to endangered species. The more creative and interesting (yet truthful), the better.
The person who submits the one I like the most will receive this amazing t-shirt:
There’s a lot out there. A student named Jacob Milligan recently made a couple of websites showing what NASA has accomplished over the years. There’s a version safe for your kids and a version that’s not.
Anyone with a U.S. mailing address can enter. I’ll pick a winner when I’m back from vacation on February 19, right after President’s Day. (In the spirit of fair play, UCS employees and their families should resist entering.) My decision is final, yadda yadda yadda. You can pick the size, but I can only get this in a female fit.
So please comment below. I’m sure Ben Franklin would have wanted it.