I read Al Gore's new essay in the June 22nd issue of Rolling Stone--Climate of Denial: Can science and truth withstand the merchants of poison?- with great interest and appreciation. I then found myself immediately wondering, does Al Gore pray for the world to come to its senses when it comes to climate change?
To be clear, I have no quarrel per se with the former vice president. In fact, I admire his decision these last several years to eschew elected office and devote himself to a worthy and critical cause about which he is clearly profoundly passionate. I accept the data and the consensus of the world scientific community that climate change is real, and exacerbated by man. Further, I agree with Gore's assertions that:
When the distinction between truth and falsehood is systematically attacked without shame or consequence — when a great nation makes crucially important decisions on the basis of completely false information that is no longer adequately filtered through the fact-checking function of a healthy and honest public discussion — the public interest is severely damaged.
But I feel compelled to ask the question--is it foolhardy, or at least unrealistic, to expect rationality from a society (any society), that makes faith an unassailable virtue?
Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry is in the news for wanting to hold a prayer fest because the U.S. "has not honored God in our successes or humbly called on Him in our struggles." Elected officials of every party and stripe regularly invoke God (some sincerely, some no-doubt not) as a fail-safe solution to our problems. And who can blame them? The odds of an avowed agnostic or atheist being elected to public office in this country is about as likely as, I don't know, a camel fitting through the eye of--oh, never mind.
My point is simply that, for those who claim science and religion are not at odds ("nonoverlapping magisteria," as the late Stephen Jay Gould called it), I will simply end by quoting Gore once more:
It is time to face reality. We ignored reality in the marketplace and nearly destroyed the world economic system. We are likewise ignoring reality in the environment, and the consequences could be several orders of magnitude worse. Determining what is real can be a challenge in our culture, but in order to make wise choices in the presence of such grave risks, we must use common sense and the rule of reason in coming to an agreement on what is true.
Science and religion are, inarguably, at odds. And until we are willing to put aside all foolish, non-supportable beliefs, and live our lives through compassionate reason, we will continue to ignore and deny all of the inconvenient truths that threaten future happiness and prosperity.
