Mixing Science and Politics

Mixing Science and Politics This article1 seemed to be a well-researched and written update on the action by some European scientists. I understand that the purpose of the article was not to air the motives of those people, but the question begs itself, and intended or not, the message it sends is that the boycotters have high moral ground, that the conflict and bloodshed and suffering in the area are all Israel's doing. Paragraph after paragraph, those activities are examined as perhaps harmful to science, but apart from that, the impression one gets is that they are understandable, when in fact, they are either misguided or plain malicious. Voice is given to the likes of Rodney Douglas, preaching self-righteously that "South African academics were much more active in protesting the apartheid government than what I've seen from my Israeli colleagues," in effect calling Israel an apartheid society. To someone familiar with the history of the conflict, reading this makes it clear. Those people are not concerned with Palestinians, no more than Al-Qaeda or Iranian Ayatollahs are. They just hate Israel, plain and simple. But how many of your readers are familiar with the history? To those who are not, the article reads as accepting legitimacy of those views. Arnold Peckerman, PhD Bloomfield, NJ apeckerm@earthlink.net *** As little time as I and others who work in the lab have for activities other than research and the responsibility to keep one's life in order, I still encourage everyone to be informed about politics. Especially now, when the government feels it has a mandate to assume any task at any cost [against] anyone in response to terrorist threats. As for the article, "Mixing Science and Politics,"1 there is little doubt that a boycott may be unfair to scientists living in countries whose politics fail to be the moral equal of the scientific community. That Israel is the target of a suggested boycott is unfortunate, but this cannot be the first time scientists have been expected to share in the responsibility to assure their government merits the trust that accompanies the possession of advanced knowledge. Scientists indulge in an almost elitist belief that "what I do is above reproach and certainly independent of politics." As the news presents us with new levels of devastation in short-lived wars and skirmishes, there can be little doubt that the efficacy and foreshortening of such battles is due, in part, to those employed in research--whether nuclear, microbial, or chemical. That the knowledge in these fields all came from scientists employed by war departments and arms manufacturers is not borne out by fact, but often excused by the "above-reproach attitude." Without waxing too philosophical, responding to curiosity via research bears some responsibility, but it is not always clear how that responsibility is to be discharged. If scientists in Japan had been the first to develop nuclear weapons, the world would have been different. A Japanese scientist opposed to use of such an intellectual product for that purpose might have detonated it in the lab, thereby setting world domination back a pace or two. Such warriors fighting for humanity are not only rare, but they can exist only if they understand their situation, and they are likely to [be] recorded unfavorably, if at all, by history. An Israeli scientist living in a nation run by a xenophobic minority that openly espouses racial purity in its expanding homeland might perceive some parallels. Therefore, for Israeli scientists to be excused from their housekeeping responsibility by the outlying community of peers not only forestalls the removal of a government as dangerous as North Korea, but it replaces that duty with pity. The sooner ALL influences are brought to bear on the removal of errant leadership, the sooner the scientific community can resume its work. The boycott is not an expression of anti-Semitism as some would intimate, but it is a reminder that every citizen-subject bears the responsibility for intolerance toward bad government at home. The boycott was a courageous act and now it's [the scientists'] move. K.D. Korpi President, K2 Research Las Vegas, Nev. k2research@boss.org 1. C. Zandonella, "Mixing science and politics," The Scientist, 17[12]:39-40, June 16, 2003. function sendData() { document.frm.pathName.value = location.pathname; result = false if (document.frm.score[0].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[1].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[2].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[3].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[4].checked) result = true; if (!result) alert("Please select") return result; } .myradio{background-color : #94bee5} Please indicate on a 1 - 5 scale how strongly you would recommend this article to your colleagues? Not recommended 1 2 3 4 5 Highly recommended Please register your vote

Mixing Science and Politics

Mixing Science and Politics

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