President Donald Trump, as it would appear, is a man of his word. His various campaign promises across a myriad of policy areas have all gained form and force through his flurry of executive orders this past week. Whether or not people are surprised that he has indeed taken legitimate action on his recorded campaign promises, it is perhaps his more erratic and therefore surprising moves that evoke a deeper fear and uncertainty for the future of not only the United States, but of the world at large. His recent targeting of various scientific facets of the U.S. government as well as the stunning consequences of his recent executive orders raise alarming questions as to the status of “science” both in the United States and the world.
Generally speaking, throughout human history, the search for “meaning” has been a consistent motif across cultures and across continents. It is a long, rich and shared tradition among humans. Looking back, the vast diversity of human experience in this search for truth, in all of the unique ways that cultures approach questions regarding the physical and metaphysical world over the vast millennia of civilization, have all gradually converged upon the prevailing gemstone and showpiece of human civilization – modern science. In just some of the many ways of bringing together humanity, the modern scientific ethos seeks to transcend national borders for the purposes of cooperation, to nullify prejudices in favor of earnest communication and above all, to disseminate knowledge for all for the collective betterment and progression of humankind. As the famous physicist Albert Einstein once said, “science… is the most precious thing we have.”
Here enters President Trump and his cabinet. In my previous column, I discussed the questionable actions President Trump took in nominating seemingly unqualified individuals to powerful posts in his slowly forming administration, such as the future head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Since then, President Trump’s recent executive order of limiting and banning immigrants from certain countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa sent enormous ripples throughout numerous levels of American society, including the professional sciences.
In its current form, Trump’s executive order bars foreign individuals from entering the country, including foreign academic figures, scientists, laboratory workers, collaborators, conference attendees and Ph.D. candidates. Conversely, foreign academics who are already residing and working in the United States of America have been advised to refrain from international travel to the banned countries, in the event they are barred from re-entry. Already, numerous personal stories of scientists being denied entry to the United States in the most bizarre and truly saddening fashion, having their life plans halted overnight, reflect the wider arc of the impacts surrounding President Trump’s recent decision.
Looking toward the future, it is foreseeable that the current impacts of the executive order may lay the groundwork of isolating American universities and institutions from foreign talent, should Trump maintain such questionable actions. The preeminence of the American higher education system in the world goes without question, and it is frankly a tragedy that it is already being delegitimized by recent executive actions. But even more broadly, the action goes against everything that modern science stands for, regardless of the importance of America in its proliferation, almost as if the executive order is questioning the value of science itself behind other matters of foreign affairs.
It is essential, still, not to adopt an extremely alarmist perspective on the matter. After all, the executive order was not a direct attack on science in that it was not explicitly curtailing of scientific endeavors. The executive order was not a direct frontal assault on the practice of science in the United States and, by extension, the world. But it is heavy collateral damage.
It is important to keep in mind that such lofty and noble goals of modern science would seem difficult to disassemble, much less destroy, by one man alone. After all, both domestic and international opposition to this recent development has surfaced. But what is nevertheless concerning is that a premier actor such as the United States federal government, moreover the very leader of the free world as signed by his hand, would enact such consistently illogical actions by relinquishing the responsibility as a proponent of free scientific collaboration. With such an action that appears to have profound disregard for far-reaching ramifications, I, as a future scientist as well as many others across all strata of the scientific community, cannot help but attune to a sense of foreboding.
