This article, while not terribly original in concept, does eloquently address a very real and dramatic shift in the American public.  I find the change in attitude towards science very disheartening.  Why people would think of science as a highly esteemed field of work one decade, and then switch so rapidly to the opposite is confusing to me.  While research in specific fields such as medicine is very valuable, I think research in fundamental and abstract science can help to answer some of the fundamental questions that Americans are answering by turning their back on science.  The poll on teaching evolution especially worries me.  Evolution is very basic.  Though I don’t think people should be told what or what not to believe, removing science from the classroom is the equivalent of enforcing state religion.  I don’t really know how we could unite science and religion, but I do think that both should be acceptable in school. 

I also think that the government should increase their funding toward research.  As Adam Smith said, it is the job of the government to invest in things that the private sector cannot.  The private sector will not invest in basic research because there is no obvious way to make a profit, however, this research should still be done.  The government could move funding from health research, after all the private sector already spends billions on it.  Though the research that the government funds may not be profitable, it will, indirectly or directly better the lives of everyone.  It is because we don’t know what we will find that we should research it; deeper understanding of life and the universe will lead to better lives for all people.

If we do discover more about our place in the universe, and where we come from, that may be able to fill some of the cold void people see in science.  Though if what we have discovered thus far is an indicator, we will simply have to get used to uncertainty and unanswered questions.