(Cross-Posted at
TeddyStern.com -- Home of the Fox News Hummer: We Pollute, You Demise!)
Earlier this year, President Bush warned Congress and the country that America cannot afford to take "the road of isolationism." He
explained:
In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline. The only way to protect our people, the only way to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by our leadership. So the United States of America will continue to lead.
I'm sorry to say, I agree with President Bush.
There
are global crises that no nation can afford to ignore. That being said, the opposite of isolationism is not reckless interference in foreign affairs that don't threaten America's security. The American government has wasted
trillions of dollars and
thousands of lives on a
fabricated conflict with a foreign leader who possessed
no weapons of mass destruction or
ties to al Qaeda. Meanwhile, they have chosen the "road of isolationism" on an issue of much graver importance -- Global Warming.
Over the last five years, the President has ignored, censored and even silenced the science community's dire warnings of this approaching crisis. For a timeline of the administration's negligence, take a look at these headlines from BBC News:
Climate change outstrips forecasts January 2001
Bush 'backtracks' on emissions pledge March 2001
Bush U-turn angers environmentalists March 2001
US facing climate isolation March 2001
Anger as US abandons climate treaty April 2001
US Kyoto stance "depressing" says EU April 2001
Bush energy plan: An oilman's vision May 2001
Scientists warn Bush on global warming June 2001
Global warming 'worse than feared' July 2001
US 'censored' green report June 2003
US global warming bill rejected October 2003
US science body warns on climate December 2003
Global warming 'biggest threat' January 2004
US attacked over climate claims December 2004
Bush aide 'edited climate papers' June 2005
US climate talks 'disappointing' June 2005
Bush rejects Kyoto-style G8 deal July 2005
Notice a pattern? Scientists provide the administration with evidence of global warming and the administration responds by censoring them. The global community urges the administration to join the fight against global warming and the administration responds by taking "the road of isolationism."
Just last month, the Bush administration attempted to silence yet another climate scientist. According to The New York Times:
The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.
The administration continues to regard science, and not global warming, as the major threat. It insists that science adhere to its pre-existing stances. However, the scientific method requires scientists to gather evidence before drawing conclusions. Because science does not conform to political talking points, the administration has turned to censorship. As Dr. Hansen explains to The Times:
The problem is much broader and much deeper and it goes across agencies. That's what I'm really concerned about. On climate, the public has been misinformed and not informed. The foundation of a democracy is an informed public, which obviously means an honestly informed public. That's the big issue here.
The problem is that the administration wants science to provide confirmation and not information for its faith-based policies. It's what comedian Stephen Colbert calls "truthiness" -- "the quality by which a person purports to know something emotionally or instinctively, without regard to evidence or to what the person might conclude from intellectual examination." In an out-of-character interview with The Onion, Stephen Colbert explains:
It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything.
So, evidence be damned! If scientists aren't willing to go along with the truthiness of administration policy, silence them! The truthiness of the Bush administration's energy policy is that we can continue to pollute without harming the environment. But, the truthiness of their other policies have produced the war in Iraq, the response to Hurricane Katrina, the Dubai port deal, the warrantless wiretapping. So, why should Americans trust this faith-based policy? It turns out many don't. With President Bush's approval rating hitting 34%, the majority of Americans could finally be saying, "Truth Trumps Truthiness!"