Need for a revolutionary response to the latest attack on science

[Preface: My gratitude to CT blogger Gideon, from whom I learned about the movie described below in his blog A Public Defender. Though I encourage everyone to read Gideon’s blog to understand more about what’s really going on in the trenches of criminal defense law, it’s lucky for us that he also raises other important issues.]

It’s a difficult 21st century balancing act. Revolutionaries have a positive obligation to validate peoples’ deeply held and powerful spiritual experiences and beliefs. We especially have an obligation to create a space for stories of real people that have been marginalized by white supremacist and sexist and heterosexist ideas about “normalcy’ and “rational thinking.” For millions of people, their spiritual experiences and religious affiliations are expressions of resistance to oppression. It is sometimes the only language allowed to people whose very existence as human beings is denied on a daily basis.

On the other hand, we must fight the manipulation and exploitation of spiritual and religious beliefs by right-wing social forces. And by this I mean not only religious bigots and powerful leaders of religious traditions that teach oppression. From the days of Jerry Falwell’s misnamed Moral Majority to current discussions about “family values,” powerful forces have worked to foster the idea that the only valid expressions of religion and spirituality require blind submission to governmental authority and social hierarchy.

Science, once hailed as a powerful force to change human society (even capitalist society) for the better, is now under attack by these right wing forces because it encourages the kind of critical thinking that is the antithesis of their plan for the perfect, docile, submissive citizen.

The latest from the battleground between the defenders of capitalism and the defenders of rational, scientific inquiry: a movie titled Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. The movie, by former Nixon speechwriter and game show host Ben Stein, is an attack on the scientific community and on scientific thinking. It disguises itself as a defense of “dissidents” in the scientific community who are challenging “big science” by promoting so-called Intelligent Design. Yes, Intelligent Design, the pseudo-science that the religious right in America has been trying to shove down the throats of schoolchildren as an “alternative” to evolutionary theory.

Expect to see and hear a lot about this movie. My prediction is that the corporate media will try to position Ben Stein as the Michael Moore of the Right, and will insist that Expelled be taken as seriously as Farenheit 9/11. “Equal treatment” they will squeal - as if they regularly gave equal treatment in their pages or on their non-stop newscasts to voices critical of the status quo - as we begin to hear about how “intelligent design” is every bit as valid as evolutionary theory.

Some of the best responses to Expelled from a mainstream scientific perspective have already been assembled at Scientific American, which points out how utterly dishonest Stein’s movie really is. But more is needed. We should encourage everyone - not just professional scientists - to participate in this discussion. Recent innovations in electronic communications, from the internet to mp3 players to text messaging, have given information and power to ordinary people, allowing us to fight more effectively for a better world. We all have an interest in defending science and opposing the manipulation of our spiritual selves for the benefit of corporate America.