Today Andrew Sullivan points out Seed Magazine's endorsement of Obama in the name of science and empirical thinking. Moving government away from dogmatism is a large part of why I'm voting for Obama.
Seed endorses Obama:
Science is a way of governing, not just something to be governed. Science offers a methodology and philosophy rooted in evidence, kept in check by persistent inquiry, and bounded by the constraints of a self-critical and rigorous method. Science is a lens through which we can and should visualize and solve complex problems, organize government and multilateral bodies, establish international alliances, inspire national pride, restore positive feelings about America around the globe, embolden democracy, and ultimately, lead the world. More than anything, what this lens offers the next administration is a limitless capacity to handle all that comes its way, no matter how complex or unanticipated.
Sen. Obama's embrace of transparency and evidence-based decision-making, his intelligence and curiosity echo this new way of looking at the world.
And this, I think, helps describe Obama's political disposition pretty accurately: a liberal empiricist. And it's the empiricism that makes him attractive to conservatives of a Burkean disposition.
"Those who despise science and learning are not anti-elitist. They are morally and intellectually slothful people who are secretly envious of the educated and the cultured. And those who prate of spiritual warfare and demons are not just "people of faith" but theocratic bullies.
Christopher Hitchens at Slate
O.K. I am not really crazy about Christopher Hitchens, but, he said it....
I don't know about you guys, but these last suspense filled days are torture!
E
Posted by: elizabeth | October 30, 2008 at 01:57 PM
hey E- thx for Hitchens quote. I generally like Hitchens but he does enjoy using the bludgeon a little too often. He gets away with it because he is such a talented writer.
As you we are crawling the walls, waiting for Nov 4th. Must... stop... compulsively.. checking... polls!
Posted by: misha | October 30, 2008 at 05:29 PM