QUESTIONS OF PROGRESS IN SCIENCE & SOCIETY

Are questions better than certainty?

The thinker or Fauna in meditation, by Jacob Jordaens  (1593–1678). Photo by Didier Descouens, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areaswhere the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.

Are the Texas Government actions described in this article, Right-Wing Funded Civitas Institute Is Almost Up and Running at UT-Austin, heavy-handed, extreme? The article raises important issues and questions:

The School of Civic Leadership (SCL) at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) is a public institution. How much should it collaborate with the Civitas Institute? Civitas appears to have worked to squash voting rights in North Carolina. Its annual Leadership Conference has ties with ultra-conservatives like The Heritage Foundation which supports closer ties with authoritarians Putin and Hungary’s Orbán, and opposes aid to Ukraine.

How much should UT collaborate with the religious Pusey House? Where is the cherished separation of church and state of the “Founding Fathers” of 1776?

Consider the letter from Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe to Texas public universities*. Why should we allow government intimidation to creep into public universities? These are public universities— they should not be directed by the agendas of Democrats, nor Republicans, nor religious institutions.

Public universities are dedicated to considering, researching, and exploring new ideas. At their best, universities look beyond our current paradigms and concepts of reality and consider the possible. They add to humanity’s body of knowledge.

Legislatures reinforce the status quo. They work on case law and established precedents that in many cases have exceeded their shelf life. At their best, legislatures should enable inquiry into new ideas. Why should public universities toe a line dictated by politicians?

Why does the Brandon Creighton letter to the universities align with the trend in Texas to suppress women’s rights, to ban books, to crush voting rights, to reject federal funds for Medicaid for the poor, to attack refugees, that we continue to see?

We must respect the dignity of every human being. In this state, nation and world, we are all interconnected. Openness, acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing keep society healthy.

Thriving in the globalized 21^st Century requires diversity of approaches and ideas, and equal opportunity to consider and implement them, regardless of the source of the concepts. That is the seed of innovation and progress.

Free speech is the oxygen of Democracy. We have nothing to fear in Academic Freedom.

*The University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University System, Texas A & M University System, The University of Texas System, The University of Houston System, Texas Tech University System, the Texas State University System.

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