A Candle in the Dark
Nov. 9th, 2016 09:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
farrandyToday would have been the 82nd birthday of Carl Sagan.
I find it sadly ironic that on this day marking the birth of this intelligent softspoken champion for peace, compassion, and the scientific understanding of the world we inhabit, I learn that the man who will be the next president of my country is a shallow, bellicose man who rode to victory on a platform of disrespect, hate, and xenophobia. The party that he heads is one that will deny any science if it gets in the way of thier particular religious beliefs and/or profit motive.
I fear that in the next few years much damage will be done to society and the world we inhabit. Some of it, I fear will be a long time in correcting. Some of it, I fear will be irreversible.
I hope my fears are overrated. I hope I am wrong.
I take some comfort in knowing that, despite the claims of "mandate", more than half of the people who voted did not vote for this man. If you are, like me, fearful, remember, you are not alone.
But I'm kind of glad that "Uncle Carl" did not live to see this day.
"For me, it is better to grasp the universe as it really is, than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
----Carl Sagan; the Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
I find it sadly ironic that on this day marking the birth of this intelligent softspoken champion for peace, compassion, and the scientific understanding of the world we inhabit, I learn that the man who will be the next president of my country is a shallow, bellicose man who rode to victory on a platform of disrespect, hate, and xenophobia. The party that he heads is one that will deny any science if it gets in the way of thier particular religious beliefs and/or profit motive.
I fear that in the next few years much damage will be done to society and the world we inhabit. Some of it, I fear will be a long time in correcting. Some of it, I fear will be irreversible.
I hope my fears are overrated. I hope I am wrong.
I take some comfort in knowing that, despite the claims of "mandate", more than half of the people who voted did not vote for this man. If you are, like me, fearful, remember, you are not alone.
But I'm kind of glad that "Uncle Carl" did not live to see this day.
"For me, it is better to grasp the universe as it really is, than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
----Carl Sagan; the Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
