[Leica] Re: Assault on science and reason

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Jul 11, 2007, at 7:04 PM, George wrote:

> I believe that this discussion can and should transform into a
> discussion of how we can use our Leicas (and other cameras) to
> document the issue on the table. Kyle has pointed the way toward
> thinking about, and I assume talking about, subject matter which
> pretty quickly turned into images and a book of some significance.
>
> Which subjects would currently lend themselves to visually
> documenting this assault on science and reason?

I don't know about reason, but it is not an assault on science, per  
se. Scientists are free to pursue any type of research, even stem  
cells. It's just that they cannot expect to receive any government  
funding. Science is international. There are very few prohibited  
areas. If an American research journal won't publish an article for  
fear of offending its medical and industrial advertisers, there are  
plenty of foreign journals that will do so.

What our reactionary government controls is the public flow of  
scientifically relevant information. Deny the facts of global warming  
so we won't offend the oil companies. Ignore the plight of admittedly  
illegal immigrants because the housing, farming, and food service  
industries need their labor to keep wages low. Rant and rave against  
public funded health care because of the pressure exerted by HMOs and  
big pharma. Don't show pictures of wounded soldiers being treated in  
shoddy hospitals because that would bring home the personal cost of  
the war. We can fight back by using our Leicas to document abuses,  
misinformation, and outright lies. The internet has wrested control  
of information from the government and its lackey publishers. You  
Tube, blogs, and advocacy sites make it possible to get your pictures  
and videos seen by a wide audience. More young people get their news  
from the web and from Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" than from newspapers  
and network news combined. Hundreds of dedicated photographers can  
saturate the web with the right kind of pictures. It is only 14  
months until the next election. Get out there and shoot pictures. Use  
your Leicas for the good of humanity. The bad guys don't have Leicas.  
They use Instamatics.

Larry Z