On 6/2/05 10:47 PM, David E. Haberstich's electrons arrived as:
> I still see nothing wrong with the original basic
> plan to
> simply rent space to an outside organization for its private party, and think
> that the Randis and other ID opponents overreacted, leading to a corresponding
> overreaction by the museum.
I think the museum in this case was blindsided and its entrenched
big-institution policies and slow reaction-time was exploited -- hacked, as
it were, by a smaller and more agile organization's tactical maneuver.
Now, it's a lose/lose for the Smithsonian and a win/win for Discovery
Institute. If the Smithsonian cancels the screening, DI will have a field
day with the publicity -- charging censorship and appeasement of a radical
atheistic fringe of science that fears open dialogue. If the Smithsonian
allows the screening, DI will exploit the association ad nauseam -- all they
need say in future publications is that the film screened at NMNH and
readers will assume the endorsement.
Gotta admire DI's marketing skills -- they saw a way to penetrate the
fortress of legitimate science they so covet, and took advantage of it.
I've been around enough science organizations to discover they're uniquely
ill-equipped to handle stealth assaults of this sort. Scientists,
stereotypically but true, just want to focus on the science -- and they
believe that by simply practicing science, it will ultimately triumph over
ignorance. In a different political climate I probably would have agreed --
but now we see how the fervor of religious conservatism can begin to get its
grip on a country, and we watch the spectacle of political leaders and
hopefuls, left and right, tripping over themselves to display their
religious leanings and garner the support of that growing bloc of voters.
If this is a overreaction, so be it -- I'd certainly prefer to be wrong
about the alternative.
_____________________________________
S t e p h e n N o w l i n
http://xrl.us/stephennowlin
Vice President,Director,
Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida Street
Pasadena, CA 91103
626.396.2397
[log in to unmask]
http://www.williamsongallery.net
http://www.artandscience.us
http://www.pasadena-culture.net
_____________________________________
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
