More Faith-Based Science

It occurred to me last night that the Schiavo situation is another case of the religious right putting their trust in "faith" as opposed to the tried and true scientific method.

Every reputable doctor, with the exception of our favorite Nobel laureate, (hey, if you're going to lie about it, you might as well have won), who has examined Ms. Schiavo has said explicitly that she is in a permanent vegetative state - she has no emotions, no awareness of the world around her, no ability to recover - she's, sadly, gone for good. Every single doctor. But on television, the only clip they show is the five seconds of the 1000s of hours of home movie footage in which she appears to mimic a smile while her mother is caressing her head. It's a touching picture, if you believe her reflexive muscle action represents thought, which I'm sorry to say, does not. Not according to every doctor who has examined her, in any case.

So, once again, they would prefer to make decisions based on their initial knee-jerk emotional reaction to something, rather than reason and science. This is the same train of thought that led people to believe that comets caused volcanic eruptions, or for that matter, that there is some hidden code in the bible. Coincidences happen. It might be hard to admit, right-wing crazies, but there are people out there who know more than you do. Get over it, and let the experts handle it.