My friend Phil Plait over at Bad Astronomy just posted a very nice essay on his political philosophy. I recently mentioned that I have long thought about writing my a blog here on my own and it would share a lot in common with his.
There are things I would write differently, put a little more emphasis on some ideas than others, and I am a little surprised he didn't specifically call out pure research as a government function (pure research is that which does not have immediately obvious commercial applications so it is typically ignored by the private sector, yet frequently has enormous economic benefits later on. Such as the internet which was originally developed by ARPA to name a big obvious, easy to understand example...when I first got on the internet, I used ARPANET).
So give it a read. I have known Phil for a long time and shared many good conversations with him on science and politics. I wish I got to see him more often...mixing it up with people like him is fun and it keeps me sharp.
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I read the essay. He writes very well, and has a right to express his views.
"The world I see is not black and white. No amount of shouting, no amount of name-calling, no amount of insults, no amount of spin, lies, distortion, sniping, negativity, or propaganda will change that."
Very nicely said, strange that more people do not seem to understand that.
I think we all would do better with more tolerance, wisdom and patience for those whose ideas and ways are not like our own. In the long run, it really doesn't matter what any one individual believes. We are all specks in the grand scheme of things and really pretty insignificant. (unless your finger is on the "red" button)
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