Dear Ben, I hope you'll forgive me for asking too much of your time to read this...and thank you so, so much!
Big congrats on your movie. I'm a long time fan. I've always enjoyed your dry wit and copious knowledge of the world around us. I just read something you were quoted as saying that surprised me, even shocking me since I have always held you in such high esteem. It was supposedly quoted from an interview with Paul Crouch, Jr. on Crouch’s Trinity Broadcasting Network when speaking about your movie "Expelled".
You were quoted as saying "When we just saw that man, I think it was Mr. Myers talking about how great scientists were, I was thinking to myself the last time any of my relatives saw scientists telling them what to do they were telling them to go to the showers to get gassed … that was horrifying beyond words, and that’s where science — in my opinion, this is just an opinion — that’s where science leads you." Then you were quoted as saying "…Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people." Maybe you were quoted out of context. (this was in this
blog in case you need to correct them)
If the quote above was accurate, and I believe it is because it's stated in your usual respectful tone, I could not agree more with your comments on love, compassion and empathy - and that some scientists are quite full of themselves. ;-)
At the same time, I hope you will allow me to offer you another perspective by pointing out the fact that it's not scientists who are bad. Science and technology are always good. It's the way in which they are used which needs to be judged good or bad. It's always the politicians and military which abuse science and the scientists. The car was invented and governments made it into a tank. Antibiotics were created and governments made biological weapons. Atomic energy was discovered ...etc.
It's not the scientists who are bad. It's those who abuse their work who are the problem.