Republicans Are Obviously Idiots. Why Do They Hate Science?

Why Do Republicans Hate Science?

Conservatives display an open hostility to scientific evidence that is
sometimes undeniable

For any parent, teacher or attendee that is involved in a �Science Fair,�
you immediately realize that this is not just an exercise as a lesson, but
a complete commitment to understanding �scientific principles.� It
includes a complete process from start to finish: hypothesis, repeated
controlled experimentation, and results (right or wrong). There aren�t any
prejudices or influences involved, just pure science. This in itself, is
the basis for progress and the reason that we have the discoveries that
move humanity forward. That last statement is also the reason why
Republicans hate science, as they cannot seem to grasp any ideologies that
aren�t wrapped around their personal agendas.
Conservatives have a long and complex history of disliking science because
scientific results may counter their own religious beliefs or sometimes
science goes against their commitment to corporate and personal profits.
If there is one topic that exemplifies these statements, it is �climate
change,� and Republicans are now finding themselves completely alone in
the world as they desperately grasp onto the denial that it exists. An
article in Rolling Stone stated it best, �For the modern-day Republican
Party, protecting fossil fuels wasn�t a pet issue; it was a religion. The
Church of Carbon.�
But this is just one topic among many in the scientific realm and
conservatives seem to not only reject them, but go out of their way to
spread misinformation so that their supporters bleat incorrect statements
that are disguised as �data without a source.� It is spread far and wide
on their fellow conservative websites and social media and then they
believe it as fact.
One of the key aspects of science that conservatives can�t seem to accept
includes any information that may slight their personal religion. From the
Theory of Evolution to the age of the Earth, they seem to have a misguided
view based on unproven �mysteries� while rejecting the data at hand for
science. They look at science as a method to undermine their core beliefs
and to them, it is a deliberate attempt to create a �Godless society.�
The Good Thing About Science Is: It�s True, Whether You Believe it Or Not
Republicans are almost the only ones left on the planet that refuse to not
only accept climate change, but an array of other scientific discoveries.
Their world is indeed crumbling as nation after nation joins together to
attempt to reverse the damage that humans have done to our world and move
forward with renewable/sustainable energy.
Another quote from the same Rolling Stone article sums it up as the
Republicans gathered together:
�At this summer�s Republican National Convention, the party faithful
approved their official platform for the next four years. It reads like a
denier�s Christmas wish list, with nearly every point receiving the full-
throated support of the party nominee, Donald Trump: Build the Keystone XL
pipeline, cancel the Clean Power Plan, neuter the EPA and ban it from
regulating carbon dioxide, outlaw a carbon tax, stop all fracking
regulations. The broader the consensus outside Washington that climate
change is real and man-made, the more elaborate Republicans get in
refuting its existence. To hear Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tell it, climate
change is a global conspiracy cooked up by liberals who want to institute
�massive government control of the economy, the energy sector and every
aspect of our lives.�
In a strange twist in their rhetoric, Republicans are trying to reverse
the truth of their own desires to support the very fossil fuels and
companies that they are embedded with, coordinating a version that
dictates that anything outside of those pocket-lining areas are an attempt
to control the economy. Of course, their base supporters, who watch Fox
and read Breitbart, believe every bit of it, while ignoring the billions
of dollars that are involved in the fossil fuel industry and their
lobbyists that love the Republicans.
It appears that the Republican perception is a paranoid idea that science
is some kind of �liberal conspiracy� that threatens to destroy their
rather bizarre set of standards. Instead of looking at science as a method
to test and prove, they deny any results that they don�t like, as children
putting their hands over their ears and yelling �la-la-la-la.�
But beyond just financial subjects, science delves into their religion. It
rejects anything that cannot be proven and in religion, it is all mystery
and stories, without solid data to back it up. This creates a dichotomy
for conservatives, because their entire lives are based on their religious
beliefs. It has been an historic problem for Republicans and they are in
fear of becoming extinct.
Science Is Cool
Let�s face facts and tell it like it is: those that are involved in
science as well as the liberals that support them, are cool. If you
question that, ask yourself �when was the last time you saw a cool
conservative?� Exactly, they aren�t. Individuals like Bill Nye, the
Science Guy and Neil deGrasse Tyson have become scientific celebrities
that have enticed kids and adults into the realm of loving science. Of
course, Carl Sagan should really be given credit for being the first to
attract the attention on a social realm. His television show �Cosmos�
launched the interest of entire generations, and Nye and Tyson are
carrying that legacy forward.
Each of these believers of science have not allowed any personal beliefs
or agendas to color or taint the art of scientific study. They embrace the
discoveries with open arms and eyes, adjusting when wrong, which in turn
creates new platforms of research. This has been occurring throughout
history and is the basis for many of the standards and progress that we
share in today. The problem with conservatives is: they want to �cherry-
pick� what fits within their personal dogma and that benefits their
financial approaches; rejecting all else.
Conservative values have long fought against much of the research that has
been brought forward. From their refusal to accept the fact that �acid
rain� exists to the baseline battle against those involved in protecting
the planet, there has always been a hard core attitude that in some way,
science was trying to manipulate them, remove their religious doctrines
and destroy the very financial income that they found so comfortable.
If you look back to the first Earth Day, you will hear the voices of those
that supported unfettered polluting with the statement �nothing we do can
hurt the earth.� Of course, as people and ecosystems began dying, they
stopped and became silent. This was not a support of the condition, just
regrouping to see how they could fight it. The consistent dumping of
toxins and waste, combined with accelerated fossil fuel use threatened the
planet as well as people, and it didn�t seem to matter to the Republicans
that it could harm their own children or grandchildren. Thus we find the
center of their beliefs; which is just �uncool.�
Republicans attract donors that hide their funding via anti-science
lobbyists through entities that are third-party such as Donors Trust and
Donors Capital Fund. These are called �Dark Money ATM� and it�s used as a
method to combat science. They fight so hard to �hide� scientific results
and, as any psychologist knows, it�s because they fear it.
Science Requires an Open Mind
But there is another aspect of science that is an element that Republicans
reject and this involves the ability to have an open mind for research.
One only needs to look back to the history of some of the fascist
dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini to recognize that academia was not
only held suspect but they were deliberately removed due to their ability
to think beyond the doctrine restrictions. The only exception to this rule
was in the guidelines that involved scientific development for war.
In an article by The Guardian, they made use of a poll that had
interesting results:
�Conservative trust in science has steadily declined:
The YouGov poll also asked respondents �Generally speaking, how much trust
do you have that what scientists say is accurate and reliable?�. There was
little difference between various ethnicities, ages, geographical regions,
or genders. However, Democrats were far more likely to trust scientists
than Republicans, with Independents falling in the middle, but closer to
Republicans. These results are consistent with a 2012 paper by Gordon
Gauchat, which found: public trust in science has not declined since the
1970s except among conservatives and those who frequently attend church.�

Public trust in science broken down by ideology. Illustration: Gauchat
(2012), American Sociological Review.

It should be noted that there are also factions on the far liberal side
that distrust science. The extreme Tea Party Left have adopted their own
rather strange beliefs. However, in their case it is based on the ideology
that the �scientific results� have been skewed by corporations looking for
profit and in turn disguising or eliminating the data that could cause
harm to human beings and/or the planet.