| This reminded me of Robert Wilson's congressional testimony on Fermilab. [0] From the link: Despite the key role physicists played in ending World War II, some members of Congress were skeptical of paying a hefty price tag for a machine that did not seem to directly benefit the U.S. national interest. During Wilson’s testimony, then-senator John Pastore bluntly asked, "Is there anything connected with the hopes of this accelerator that in any way involves the security of the country?" "No, sir, I don’t believe so," Wilson replied. "It has no value in that respect?" "It has only to do with the respect with which we regard one another, the dignity of man, our love of culture. It has to do with: Are we good painters, good sculptors, great poets? I mean all the things we really venerate in our country and are patriotic about. It has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to make it worth defending." [0] https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201804/history.cfm |
Thank you for sharing. This is one of the most thought provoking lines I have ever read. People and politicians often forget that making a country worth defending is as important as the act of defense.