Ignorance and Want

The term 'Global Warming' distracts us from the really salient issues of the day, population and education. And when I mention education, I do not include what is taught to youngsters in the Islamic madrasses of Pakistan, nor in the Creation Museum of Kentucky. In his classic work, 'A Christmas Carol', Charles Dickens penned the following lines about the 'offspring' of mankind.

“They are Man's,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.”

I don't think that those words have ever been more true than they are today. In its own way, both at home and abroad, the modern assault on rationalism and science is underway, promulgated by those representing a new radicalism within various religious movements around the globe. This is making the world of today a meaner and more dangerous place to live. It's true that science does not possess the answers to all of the daunting problems facing mankind today, but the answers are not to be found in dogma, either. At least science is an international language of discovery and collaboration, where the process itself goes beyond the old beliefs of the past, and lays a foundation where the discoveries of the future can bear fruit. The fact that sea levels are going to rise in the coming years is not the most worrisome issue facing a troubled world today.