A scary disdain for science has taken over mainstream conservatism.
Politicians, most recently Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have accused scientists and engineers working on climate research of twisting the truth and falsifying information, apparently to get more funding.
When they vilify some, they denigrate the whole profession. Scientists and engineers live in the world of discovery, invention, innovation and continuous improvement. Their world is one of facts, verification and peer evaluations.
In that respect, they are at the opposite end of the world that politicians exist in. They are typically the starting point of any business that leads to good-paying jobs with benefits.
They are the heroes who arm our brave soldiers in the battlefield with the most advanced military hardware. Their medical innovations save lives and make our hospitals the best in the world.
An overwhelming majority of scientists and engineers endorse evolution as fact; stem cell and other genetic research, and the evidence of the role of human behavior on climate change.
The chance that a vast majority of them are wrong, while possible, is about as remote as that of a politician being honest.
Politicians don't have to thank scientists and engineers for what they do, but the least they can do is not drag them into the dark, unenlightened ditch of politics.
