Guest
Below is the text of a petition urging President Bush and our national
leaders to call upon the nation to embark upon a modern-day 'Manhattan
Project' in scientific education and research to protect and extend
America's position of global leadership in technology and science; a
position that becomes more fragile and tenuous every passing day that
we continue to let our public schools lag behind the rest of the
industrial world, and increasingly Asian nations, in the sciences.
Would you be willing to sign this petition and pass it along to your
fellow scientists, mathematicians, and engineers? You can sign an
electronic copy of the petition and see who else has signed it at:
http://www.CallBushToAction.com
The petition will be delivered to President Bush and your respective
Congressmen on September 1, 2005.
The text of the petition is as follows:
America's Engineering, Mathematics, and Scientific Communities: A
Petition Urging President Bush to Call America to Action in a
Modern-Day 'Manhattan Project' for Scientific Education and Research
Whereas historically, the most powerful weapons the West has fielded in
defeating threats to liberty are education and research, specifically
in math, science, and engineering; from the intelligence and technology
that sank the axis powers in WWII, winning the Cold War, to the
stabilizing technology-enabled Western presence today, the champions of
liberty have always relied upon having the most educated and innovative
scientific minds;
Whereas Western technology has created a modern global political
economy in which geography and other traditional Western defenses are
increasingly irrelevant;
Whereas the United States has been the primary engine for scientific
progress throughout the 20th century, whether directly or indirectly
through stimulated competition;
Whereas the current trajectory for US education and scientific research
makes the West's position of prominence in science and technology
unsustainable, as well as the service economies based upon scientific
innovation;
Whereas the United States, and indeed the entire Western world, is
facing a dynamic world of unprecedented threats, change, and challenge;
Whereas we believe the American people are capable of overcoming and
achieving any challenge when called upon, whether it be defeating
fascism and communism, or being the first to walk on the Moon;
Whereas the nations of East Asia have long since embraced their own
call to action and are undertaking their own Cold War-esque 'arms race'
in scientific education and research and are now poised to unseat the
stability and prosperity of the West;
Whereas we believe it is reckless and irresponsible to continue
ignoring this challenge when American leadership, spirit, and ingenuity
are so desperately needed by the West;
Whereas your challenge to reach Mars is in the right spirit, but rings
hollow, irrelevant, and fails to capture the American imagination since
it lacks the competitive element of the Kennedy challenge you sought to
invoke;
Whereas we believe with the downfall of the Soviet Union, we need a
leader to focus and tap into the American drive by first acknowledging
and defining this new competitive environment and secondly, calling on
American's to rise to the challenge through action and sacrifice;
We, the undersigned members of America's engineering, mathematics, and
scientific communities, hereby call upon you, President Bush, to
reaffirm our government's commitment to research and summon Americans
to this momentous challenge to tackle head-on the threats facing our
next generation by embarking upon a modern 'Manhattan Project' aimed at
maintaining and extending our position of leadership in science, math,
and engineering education and research, our sole sources of competitive
advantage in an increasingly competitive and dangerous world.
leaders to call upon the nation to embark upon a modern-day 'Manhattan
Project' in scientific education and research to protect and extend
America's position of global leadership in technology and science; a
position that becomes more fragile and tenuous every passing day that
we continue to let our public schools lag behind the rest of the
industrial world, and increasingly Asian nations, in the sciences.
Would you be willing to sign this petition and pass it along to your
fellow scientists, mathematicians, and engineers? You can sign an
electronic copy of the petition and see who else has signed it at:
http://www.CallBushToAction.com
The petition will be delivered to President Bush and your respective
Congressmen on September 1, 2005.
The text of the petition is as follows:
America's Engineering, Mathematics, and Scientific Communities: A
Petition Urging President Bush to Call America to Action in a
Modern-Day 'Manhattan Project' for Scientific Education and Research
Whereas historically, the most powerful weapons the West has fielded in
defeating threats to liberty are education and research, specifically
in math, science, and engineering; from the intelligence and technology
that sank the axis powers in WWII, winning the Cold War, to the
stabilizing technology-enabled Western presence today, the champions of
liberty have always relied upon having the most educated and innovative
scientific minds;
Whereas Western technology has created a modern global political
economy in which geography and other traditional Western defenses are
increasingly irrelevant;
Whereas the United States has been the primary engine for scientific
progress throughout the 20th century, whether directly or indirectly
through stimulated competition;
Whereas the current trajectory for US education and scientific research
makes the West's position of prominence in science and technology
unsustainable, as well as the service economies based upon scientific
innovation;
Whereas the United States, and indeed the entire Western world, is
facing a dynamic world of unprecedented threats, change, and challenge;
Whereas we believe the American people are capable of overcoming and
achieving any challenge when called upon, whether it be defeating
fascism and communism, or being the first to walk on the Moon;
Whereas the nations of East Asia have long since embraced their own
call to action and are undertaking their own Cold War-esque 'arms race'
in scientific education and research and are now poised to unseat the
stability and prosperity of the West;
Whereas we believe it is reckless and irresponsible to continue
ignoring this challenge when American leadership, spirit, and ingenuity
are so desperately needed by the West;
Whereas your challenge to reach Mars is in the right spirit, but rings
hollow, irrelevant, and fails to capture the American imagination since
it lacks the competitive element of the Kennedy challenge you sought to
invoke;
Whereas we believe with the downfall of the Soviet Union, we need a
leader to focus and tap into the American drive by first acknowledging
and defining this new competitive environment and secondly, calling on
American's to rise to the challenge through action and sacrifice;
We, the undersigned members of America's engineering, mathematics, and
scientific communities, hereby call upon you, President Bush, to
reaffirm our government's commitment to research and summon Americans
to this momentous challenge to tackle head-on the threats facing our
next generation by embarking upon a modern 'Manhattan Project' aimed at
maintaining and extending our position of leadership in science, math,
and engineering education and research, our sole sources of competitive
advantage in an increasingly competitive and dangerous world.
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