Anyone for Math and Science?

ARE WE SURE ABOUT THIS NEED?

"Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. To strive for less would be unworthy of a free and religious people. Any failure traceable to arrogance, or our lack of comprehension or readiness to sacrifice would inflict upon us grievous hurt both at home and abroad. Progress toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world. It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology -- global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger is poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle -- with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment."

Text from a current political candidate seeking to explain America's position as world guardian? Actually, no. The above text is part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1961 Farewell Speech. People often ask why do we need to study history? Well, given the words above, it certainly appears that we haven't listened and learned much over the past 45 years. But, President Eisenhower's speech wasn't just about his lamenting the ongoing world conflicts. He was concerned about the Military Industrial Complex that America was building. Take a look at another snippet from his speech:

"The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded."

Today's call for more math and science teachers does raise a curiosity. Certainly the country can use more doctors and other healthcare professionals but how many more technology engineers do we need? Most of that work is outsourced to much cheaper labor countries and is unlikely to return. Given the power of today's super computers, and the potential for even more powerful computers, math scholars can solve significant problems in less time and with less resources.

It would be prudent to follow the money trail to understand this political posturing. Reseach funding at major universities is largely from the Department of Defense. I would suspect that the second leading source of funds are coming from the pharmaceutical industry. Higher education claims it needs these funds to continue providing quality education.

It seems ironic that with the current administration's mentality (and in many parts of the country) that evolution is "bad science" but the creation of deadly bacteria or "bunker-busting" limited nuclear weapons are OK. How does a Christian Nation condone having the weapons ability to wipe out entire nations of people?

If the country needs more math and science students to address global warming, renewable energy sources or food for the poor and hungry, then let's push forward. If it's for unique ways to destroy people who are different from Americans, then lets revisit Eisenhower's warnings and educate our current group of politicians.