When the March for Science happens, I’m going to be there. I’ll be marching on behalf of muzzled government scientists who can’t share their work. I’ll be marching against a president who has said alarming things about vaccines and climate change.
But I’m also going to march on behalf of scientists who should be in the US, but won’t be, because of the executive order on immigration President Trump signed on Friday. I am appalled by his temporary ban on immigration from seven nations not only for humanitarian reasons, but also because I am concerned for my fellow scientists and the scientific enterprise.
When I was an undergraduate, I did summer research in a laboratory in Boston where seven languages were spoken. My mentors and coworkers were from Turkey, India, China, South Korea, Germany, Colombia, and the US.
Marching for Science is simply asinine. If you think Trump has too much power, you should be marching to reduce the size and power of government. That will produce beneficial change long-term. Somebody even wackier could get elected next time, you know.
First: Sara, thank you for sharing your thoughts about all of this. As a non-scientist, I learned a lot from your piece!
Second: NBPSmith, marching is done in large part to raise awareness. To say it is “asinine” to march for science is not only rather harsh but also simply inaccurate. I applaud Sara for speaking out and for marching to raise awareness of the importance of global scientific cooperation.
Last but not least–why can’t she and her fellow scientists march for both?