Why I march for science

By Sun Advocate

NATHANIEL WOODWARD
I’ve never been the type of person who likes receiving gifts. My whole adult life I have struggled with it. I have no idea why it bugs me but I hate the awkward squirming I do when I try to show the correct amount of gratitude in both physical gestures and words.
So my wife, who knows me all too well knows exactly what kind of gifts to get me for my birthday and Christmas, normally books or tickets to the symphony or a good play. This last fall for my birthday she surprised me with something I had no idea I wanted so badly, tickets to Alton Brown’s speaking/performance tour “Eat Your Science.” It combined my two favorite things after all, eating and science.
The performance was exactly how I thought it would be hilarious, informative and the perfect release from the outside world, if only for a few hours. However, as we left Salt Lake City my thoughts turned to the upcoming “March for Science” being held on April 22, Earth Day.
Science is involved in absolutely everything we do, especially in food, as Mr. Brown had demonstrated, so I naturally was concerned with the rhetoric and history of the powers that be in Washington DC. I have avoided writing too much about politics in the last few months as everything that really needed to be said was already being written but the nature of politics in the world has necessitated I express my feelings.
Never before in contemporary US history have we had more of an anti-science administration running our country and that should have everyone absolutely terrified. Don’t get me wrong, each administration has had its snafus when it came to some aspect of science but regardless of your opinion of Barack Obama, the man was arguably the greatest science advocate to sit the Oval Office since JFK.
But our current President and Vice President have a lengthy history of being enemies to progress and if their actions in the last few weeks are any hint as to what we are in for in the scientific community we are in big, big trouble.
From appointing anti-science, non-scientists to replace highly qualified cabinet members to run the EPA and the DOE to Mike Pence’s history of advocating torture against American citizens who happen to be homosexual, it’s terrifying to think about what might happen next. What has me concerned the most are two main things, first; Donald Trump’s history of tweeting absolute nonsense. For the life of me I have no idea how he gets away with saying some of the made-up garbage he invents but let’s set a few things straight, our president believes that vaccines cause autism. Don’t believe me? In his own word, “Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn’t feel good and changes – AUTISM. Many such cases!”
I already wrote on climate change and why that matters so I will move on to what concerns me the most, the fact that he just presented a plan to pay for his asinine wall by cutting the budget for cancer and disease research. That’s right, to pay for a pointless wall our president is suggesting we cut funds to fight and eradicated diseases, including cancer. If that doesn’t absolutely enrage and terrify you I don’t know what will…Hilary’s emails? Finally, Mike Pence has advocated we stop teaching biology in public schools, because biology is “just a theory.” I know you can’t hear it readers, but thats the sound of my head hitting the keyboard.
This is why I march for science, because this stuff actually matters. But ya know…emails. So go ahead a call those who march petty names, I’ll proudly stand along side all the “snowflakes” just remember, there are millions of us and winter is coming.