Neil deGrasse Tyson: Without Science, America Will ‘Fade From Relevance’ (Video)

“When You Have an Established, Scientific Emergent Truth, It Is True Whether or Not You Believe In It”

Ahead of today’s March for Science, Neil deGrasse Tyson took to social media to detail the rise of America from a “backwoods country” to one of the “greatest nations the world has ever known.”

In “Science in America,” self-described as containing “the most important words Neil deGrasse Tyson has ever spoken,” the celebrated astrophysicist made clear that “science has only one goal: to determine the world’s objective truths.”

The accompanying video, seen below, explains that science is a “fundamental part of the country,” discussing the industries the country has pioneered, requiring unparalleled scientific and technological innovation.

“But in this, the 21st century,” deGrasse Tyson cautioned, “when it comes time to make decisions about science, it seems to me people have lost the ability to judge what is true and what is not. What is reliable, what is not reliable. What should you believe, what should you not believe.”

“And when you have people who don’t know much about science standing in denial of it and rising to power,” he said, “that is a recipe for the complete dismantling of our informed democracy.”

The video subsequently shows clips of Vice President Mike Pence (who has a well-documented war on science) calling for “educators around America [to] teach evolution not as a fact,” the “increasing number of parents showing skepticism about vaccinations” and climate change denial.

(Donald Trump has previously said that climate change, which 97% of climate scientists agree is due to human activity, was a concept created “by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.”)

“I’m old enough to remember the 60s and the 70s,” deGrasse Tyson lamented. “But I don’t remember any time where people were standing in denial of what science was.”

“When you have an established, scientific emergent truth,” he said, “it is true whether or not you believe in it.”

You can read Neil deGrasse Tyson’s full piece here, and watch the astrophysicist’s impassioned video below: 

 

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