Much shall be made of George “W.” Bush, Junior’s two four-year Administrations, hereafter referred to entirely as “W,” and of course, after January 2009, as we get further away, greater clarity and context shall surely emerge. I propose to advocate a narrative for the latter, context, and that seems to be eluding people in their present discussions and seems to escape the major mass media all together.
Regardless of whether Bush the Second the man at the end of the day is determined “the worst,” or just a poor, President of the USA, the ”W” Policies of anti-science and politicization of science has helped to veil a second Renaissance.
Regardless of most possible negative efforts by any US Administration this Renaissance is inevitable and at worst can only be delayed.
On the first point, W’s stand on the politicization of science is well documented:
http://www.nrdc.org/bushrecord/science/rfk.asp
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0614-04.htm
http://www.waronscience.com/home.php
http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/
There is a second Renaissance more or less already afoot:
In health;
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=5568
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1809322.stm
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=38086
http://www.aist.go.jp/aist_e/latest_research/2008/20080521/20080521.html
http://www.amdsupport.ca/articles/79/1/Bionic-Eyes-Under-Development/Page1.html
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TD0-4GYH7K2-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=83840f0650b4c88b041c53be9d522223
In transportation;
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4261425.html?page=10&series=19
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/03/27/blade-runner-australia-s-first-zero-emissions-car/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/my.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/16/hondas-zero-emission-car_n_107307.html
In energy;
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/?a=f
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080603102752.htm
http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2008/20080042.html
Continuing the point, the Internet is now some virtual 21st Century version of the ancient Library of Alexandria, and in ancient terms if it were a physical space would probably be considered a Modern Wonder by almost any standard:
If you google “art” there will be over 1.8 billion places to go; “music” will show you over 2.8 billion places; “philosophy” gives you 173 million places to explore; “literature” 328 million; and that is only based on an English language search.
According to http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm over 20% of the world has access to this Virtual Great Library. In ancient terms, that would be the equivalent of 20% of the human population in ~100 BC living within walking distance of the Temple of the Muses—and having access regardless of class, nationality, ethnicity, etc.!
We live in a tremendous time where the light of truth is burning as bright as ever, and therefore the obscuring or politicization of science and truth stands little hope of overcoming the time tested saying, “and the truth will set you free.”
With that thought the second point, that no government could totally destroy or retard the progress of this Second Renaissance, which will probably also eventually be considered a progression of human society equivalent to the Enlightenment and Renaissance all rolled into one Great Science Fiction novel, is technically false.
A better statement is that no reasonable government could totally retard or destroy this oncoming progress. Therefore, “W” should be seen as a somewhat reasonable, if not mediocre force, which dragged its collective and metaphorical feet into the 21st century, without absolutely deposing this oncoming progress.
An unreasonable government would, for example resort to fascism to enforce antiquated ways of thinking, and although many believe Bush II should be impeached;
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060130/holtzman
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iE21FOVAfMfEbAE5LDwiYm8fGh4QD916SHJ01
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_to_impeach_George_W._Bush
Any Argumentum ad Nazium about the “W” Administration, or Argumentum ad Hitlerum about Bush II himself, is vastly out of proportion with whatever wrongs or possible crimes his administration or he has allegedly perpetrated, and to which subsequent proceedings shall create the clarity to more accurately discover and prove. This is not a defense of W, rather a contextual boundary line that would recognize only an exceedingly fascist and a VERY UNREASONABLE government, or more aptly coalition of governments, could possibly delay, or attempt to stop, the oncoming cultural, social and intellectual Renaissance.
It is dubious to imagine that no matter how unreasonable or fascist a coalition of governments would be that it could actually stop the oncoming tidal wave of human endeavors that compose this Second Renaissance. As the expression goes, “That horse has left the barn.”
The W Administration stance on most issues, and in particular science, will be seen in the context of the last throws of an effort to resist the upcoming series of scientific, intellectual, and, probably most relevant to the seemingly convoluted motives of the W Administration, SOCIAL changes, and once these changes and the facts surrounding their genesis and synthesis become factual grounds for the historical context of this Administration, Bush II will be relegated to the dustbin filed under: the last vestiges of the Twentieth Century and some of its antique fallacies of thought.
