Several days ago NPR carried a story about universities in Brussels offering tenure-track positions in the sciences which touted their research facilities. Clearly aiming at American professors looking for academic freedom, these state of the art institutions made it clear that faculty would be free to express political and social opinions and would not be constrained by an increasingly repressive regime as they are here.
As the new regime is in the process of gutting scientific and medical research, some who are on the block are finding such opportunities appealing. At least one major pharmaceutical firm is moving to Canada. In the meantime, of course, the shamans are telling worried parents that Vitamin A will prevent measles.
And as the new Inquisition continues in our universities, important programs are being eliminated. It looks like the only difference between what is happening here and what occurred in the 16th century is that suspects are not being shown instruments of torture or being burned at the stake – at least not yet.
Prayer for the Day
Like Jeremiah, we lament, we lament,
For the destruction of knowledge and truth;
Like Isaiah, we fear the impending armies,
Armies that would destroy free inquiry and thought.
Save us, O God, from those who rely on half-truths,
And feed into the fears of our people.
In the name of the One who helps us in our turmoil,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The undersigned are elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, representing some of the nation’s top scientists, engineers, and medical researchers. We are speaking out as individuals. We see real danger in this moment. We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation’s scientific enterprise is being decimated.
A climate of fear has descended on the research community. Researchers, afraid of losing their funding or job security, are removing their names from publications, abandoning studies, and rewriting grant proposals and papers to remove scientifically accurate terms (such as “climate change”) that agencies are flagging as objectionable.
Open letter signed by 1,900 researchers, scientists, professors
The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction…
The Wisdom of Solomon 6: 17a