Clark County Commissioner David Madore’s pleasantly surprising email to me reads “I have a high regard for rational logical evidenced based thinking. I love … engaging in practical problem solving.” Madore’s unfortunate endorsement of his religion intrudes nonstop upon our common life, but Madore is intelligent and understands that science brings innovation, jobs and medicine.
Commissioner Tom Mielke, on the other hand, set aside the first two minutes of each county meeting to celebrate “faith,” as opposed to the government requirement for evidence.
I am outraged by the anti-science rhetoric I’m hearing from politicians and pulpits across America. Scientists, picked on as “nerds” as children, are called as adults tempters, blasphemers and unpatriotic traitors.
Certain overreaching religious movements (I’m looking at you, dominionists of Clark County) seek to break the protective wall between church and state to establish a “Judeo-Christian” (that means discriminatory) government. Whereas a scientific-minded government is a self-correcting one when faced with evidence, a dogma-based government is inflexible and tyrannical. History bears witness to this.
