Woolly Mammoths: Libertarian Poster Boys
I've been thinking about science and public funding more, lately, thanks to an excellent article I stumbled on through a Catholic midwife's blog. The article, The unholy lust of scientists, chronicles the problems inherent with the public funding of science. It was a refreshing change from the constant calls for robbing tax payers in the name of science and progress. The truth was a breath of fresh air. Speaking of disturbing science, the NIH dudes are going to get together to scientifically justify rising cesarean rates and maternal cesarean on demand. Trust me, I'll have more to say on this in the near future.
But I digress. I really wanted to chat about woolly mammoths. As I have previously alluded to, the Nebraska winters make me a bit loony. During a particularly loony moment, I decided to pack up my three kids, including a baby and a toddler, and take an eight hour road trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota while my husband was away on business. Surprisingly, South Dakota is not thought of as a desirable winter destination , so most of the tourist attractions were closed. We did get to see Mount Rushmore and the world's largest mammoth research facility. Ah, finally the transition to the libertarian poster boys.
It seems that in 1974 an evil capitalist land developer was going forward with his nefarious plan to build houses for people and he stumbled upon some bones. After discovering that he was sitting on a paleontological treasure, shockingly, without any government coercion whatsoever, he turned around and sold the land, at cost, to a non-profit group who would go on to excavate and preserve the site. 26,000 years ago, a bunch of male Columbian and Woolly Mammoths fell into a sink hole and died. Being a maternalistic society, the mammoths didn't let their young females wander off and do stupid things, so apparently it was only the males who made the ultimate sacrifice for science. Hence, I can christen these mammoths as the Libertarian Poster Boys. The Mammoth Site is "the world's largest Columbian mammoth exhibit and research center for Pleistocene studies" and it is privately funded. It was really a phenomenally interesting place and the boys enjoyed themselves. My three year old most enjoyed seeing the size of the "mammoth poo" in relation to other animal dung. My oldest son, my budding scientist, has asked to go back in June for his birthday and participate in the "junior paleo dig".
One can value things such as scientific discovery, environmentalism, and helping the poor without wanting the government to do it. And these things can be done without the government. Yes, some free people will be greedy bastards, but most of us will go on to accomplish things, both great and small, for the betterment of our families and society. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, who sits atop Mount Rushmore, "Liberty... is the great parent of science and virtue; and... a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free."
But I digress. I really wanted to chat about woolly mammoths. As I have previously alluded to, the Nebraska winters make me a bit loony. During a particularly loony moment, I decided to pack up my three kids, including a baby and a toddler, and take an eight hour road trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota while my husband was away on business. Surprisingly, South Dakota is not thought of as a desirable winter destination , so most of the tourist attractions were closed. We did get to see Mount Rushmore and the world's largest mammoth research facility. Ah, finally the transition to the libertarian poster boys.
It seems that in 1974 an evil capitalist land developer was going forward with his nefarious plan to build houses for people and he stumbled upon some bones. After discovering that he was sitting on a paleontological treasure, shockingly, without any government coercion whatsoever, he turned around and sold the land, at cost, to a non-profit group who would go on to excavate and preserve the site. 26,000 years ago, a bunch of male Columbian and Woolly Mammoths fell into a sink hole and died. Being a maternalistic society, the mammoths didn't let their young females wander off and do stupid things, so apparently it was only the males who made the ultimate sacrifice for science. Hence, I can christen these mammoths as the Libertarian Poster Boys. The Mammoth Site is "the world's largest Columbian mammoth exhibit and research center for Pleistocene studies" and it is privately funded. It was really a phenomenally interesting place and the boys enjoyed themselves. My three year old most enjoyed seeing the size of the "mammoth poo" in relation to other animal dung. My oldest son, my budding scientist, has asked to go back in June for his birthday and participate in the "junior paleo dig".
One can value things such as scientific discovery, environmentalism, and helping the poor without wanting the government to do it. And these things can be done without the government. Yes, some free people will be greedy bastards, but most of us will go on to accomplish things, both great and small, for the betterment of our families and society. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, who sits atop Mount Rushmore, "Liberty... is the great parent of science and virtue; and... a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free."
posted by Danielle at 5:44 AM
3 Comments:
I found your blog through the homebirth debate, and I'm so glad I did! I'm a libertarian as well, and I'm delighted to read the thoughts of a like-minded mama.
This is a great blog. Can't wait to read more. More posts, please!!
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Thanks, Jenn! Yes, I suppose my time might be better spent on my own blog rather than trying to reason over at Homebirth Debate. I feel certain some of my feelings about the (supposed) conversation over there is going to come gushing out in a new post over here very soon!
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