Vote To End Attacks On Science

Instead of thinking about whether to vote Democratic or Republican in the upcoming U.S. election, think about voting to protect science instead of destroying it.

Undercutting science has dangerous repercussions.  New York Times contributor David Leonhardt, analyzing COVID-19 data from the World Bank and Johns Hopkins University, found that as of September 1, if the U.S. had the same rate of COVID-19 deaths as the world average, 145,000 fewer Americans would have died from the disease.

Science, built on facts and evidence-based analysis, is fundamental to a safe and fair America.  Upholding science is not a Democratic or Republican issue.  There are plenty of people in red and blue states across the country who respect and need science.  Industrial innovation, profitable farming, homeland security, a competitive economy and therefore good jobs, all depend on it.  But politicians of different stripes have to get on board to protect science from further demise.

On an individual basis, the most powerful action you can take to protect science is to vote out of office a president who is trying to gut it -- and to encourage people you know to do likewise, especially in the battleground states.  The same applies to the November elections for key U.S. Senate races.  Most senators and representatives do prize facts and evidence-based thinking, yet too many of them remain silent about Trump’s abuse of science.  Their silence is complicity.  For that reason, the November 3 election should be a day of reckoning.

-- The Editors of Scientific American, "On November 3, Vote to End Attacks on Science", 9 October 2020