-By Vince Johnson
What happens when mainstream America notices that many PhD’s, educators, and noted scientists, which according to the media, are in resolute disagreement with each other?
The answers are obvious and frightening:
- Students, educators, and ordinary citizens do not know what to believe.\
- Severe damage is foisted upon the credentials of respected and highly regarded individuals.
Proof that this is happening right now can be verified and analyzed by observing how journalists cover the “Global Warming” issue.
According to the news media, highly credentialed scientists and established authorities are lining up on opposing sides of the issue. This confuses rather than clarifies the public. To illustrate: Three things happen when one group of PhD’s tell us one thing, and another group of PhD’s tell us something else:
- Students and the public do not know what to believe.
- Journalists further their careers by intensifying an issue they created.
- The credibility of highly credentialed individuals is damaged.
This should not be the case. The scientific process cannot take place without skepticism. However, this skepticism should proceed in a calm and scholarly process where both sides are dedicated to extension and verification of their research rather than feeding the news media commentary that keeps the issue raging.
My own conclusion is that journalists are keeping Global Warming as an issue of great controversy to hold ratings and revenue at maximized levels. This is understandable, but at some point, global warming theories should be treated as a scientific endeavor to be considered in a thoughtful and well-informed manner by the public.
This letter is submitted with the hope you will review and respond by advising me if this kind of reporting is in accord with the kind of ethics journalists are taught to respect.
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Vince Johnson welcomes comments. Please send them to,Vince Johnson(vjadtrak@centurytel.net)
Vince Johnson welcomes comments. Please send them to,Vince Johnson(vjadtrak@centurytel.net)
See Vince in the new book Americans on Politics. Policy, and Pop-Culture.