Politics is bad for science

I’ve been reading a studying great works of politics and philosophy, most notably “Democracy in America” by de Tocqueville. I never really understood politics as it is today, and never really understood government until I started reading that book and paying more attention to presidents and presidential history. My eyes have been opened a little to a new world, a world where politicians are shrewd and they hate science.

I don’t profess to be a political genius, or understand every bit of the way the American government runs, but one thing’s for sure, President Obama is a good politician. I had no reason to dislike him or his administration, but after one public statement he recently made, I began to question his motives.

Obama predicts that by 2030 humans will not only land on the moon, again, but will also go to Mars. Amazing! Truly marvelous! How on Earth (no pun intended) is he going to back that claim? I mean, really. President Bush already had a plan to go to the moon, now it’s being 86ed in favor of some new plan that the Obama administration came up with. What is it with Democrats replacing all the hard work Republicans have performed, and Republicans undoing all the effort Democrats have done?

Obama’s plan is great, now. It puts some hope in people’s eyes once again. “Where is my flying car?” people used to ask, “NASA failed us”, people would say. This plan gives us reason to hope in NASA once more. It gives us reason to think that America stands out in some really significant way that other countries don’t.

Unfortunately, this plan, in my opinion, from my understanding, will fail. It’s unrealistic. It’s too dangerous given our level of technology and competence, and is quite possibly pointless. Far too much could go wrong between here and Mars. The closest help is at least 40 days away. We’re not ready for that kind of thing.

This will backfire terribly on future scientists working for NASA or for those relying on NASA for grants. If it doesn’t happen, which it won’t, NASA looks dumb, the public’s opinion of NASA goes down, funding goes down, and plenty of scientists will be jobless. If it does happen, which it won’t, the chances of things going wrong are incredible! All it takes is one tennis ball sized asteroid and the mission is over. NASA will still look dumb, the public’s opinion of NASA goes down, funding goes down, and plenty of scientists will be jobless. If it does happen, which it won’t, and everything goes smoothly, the pioneers return home safely, then I will gladly eat my own words, with joy!

Thinking politically, this is a genius move – it is truly masterful timing! Why not use what hope people want to have in NASA to make yourself look good? 20 years from now he’s not going to be in office, who cares if history shows him mistaken? Certainly not him. If we don’t make it to the moon, say, he could blame the future presidents for failing, or he could just say “at least I tried”. He’s setting himself up for reelection at the expense of the scientists and engineers working for NASA 20 years from now. A pretty damn cowardly act, if you ask me.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing effects me directly. It’s tragic. It renders my graduate school educations almost pointless. I may end up working for NASA only to be screwed by a power hungry politician. I want a political hero to believe in like in the old days with the founding fathers! I want to believe in a political hero like the honest John Marshall, like the upright John Adams, and like the valiant George Washington who would not tell a lie! One’s who genuinely loved their countrymen like their own, such as the lionhearted Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt. We need more men like them.

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