It is not about science versus what is sacred.
Rick Bennett MS, PhD
Applied Life Sciences, LLC
Kukuiopae, Hawai‘i
Way back in 1973, I began my graduate school education
to become a scientist. By 1974 I was collecting data and analyzing it. Those
were my first days being scientific. Then in 1976, the University of California
awarded me its highest degree. I was but 26 years old. I had learned a new
language, the language of science. Even in those formative years, my ethic
directed me to use this new tool only for good.
It disturbs me no end; the hear the media and various
"leaders" cast science as some exalted religion that by definition,
is intrinsically right and true. They use being scientific to mean, all things
scientific are inherently better than any other. This is an ignorant abuse of
the term.
Science is not a religion, a philosophy, or a set of
fixed ideologies. Science is a method to investigate the natural world
systematically. Like any other tool in the hands of people, it is subject to
benign misinterpretation and vulnerable to selfish abuse and human atrocities.
In modern history, we have witnessed science used for horrific purposes. One
most notable abuse occurred on Moloka‘i at Kalaupapa. The medical doctor M.
Mouritz intentionally infected local people with the leprosy agent to study the
disease.[1]
Similarly, African American men were purposefully infected with Syphilis in
1932 and followed up until 1972, when a newspaper story exposed the doctors.[2]
The US military and the CIA conducted many experiments on humans without regard
for their rights or well-being. The US military sprayed bacteria on San
Francisco and other cities as a bio-weapons test in 1950. They believed
bacteria were harmless; however, some people got serious infections and died.[3]
The military conducted this experiment in the name of science. The list of
horrific experiments could go on and on. Slightly less lethal but certainly not
benign is the significant number of scientific studies, conducted on new drugs.
The data was falsified to make the drugs appear safe and effective when they
were not.[4]
Let's suffice it to say science is a double-edged sword, and its effects are
all determined by the person wielding it.
As a teenager, I had the great fortune for the
opportunity to travel into many wilderness areas of California. I vividly
recall standing at the base of Mt. Whitney as the setting sun cast ethereal
shadows across its face. I felt in the presence of the Creator.
My family spent many weekends in the deserts in the
south of California. There were times when the vast majesty of a verdant
wildflower-filled valley or the pastel hues of the Chocolate Mountains would
evoke a sense of awe and great reverence. We were not a religious family, but
these experiences taught me the word sacred. That understanding has guided me
as a person and a scientist all my life. It has evoked great respect and
compassion for beliefs of indigenous peoples of the world. Not too many years
ago, a tribal elder took me aside and told me; it is time native people teach
the westerners how to live in the world. I told him given the wrath we have
wrought on the planet; we do need to learn.
From time to time, believing in the sacred put me at
odds with my scientist friends. I recall a rousing conversation I had with an
overzealous scientist colleague. I was attempting to explain my belief in nature
as a sacred thing. He retorted, there is no such attribute to nature. It cannot
be measured; therefore, it does not exist. This belief about measuring among
scientists is not unique. I felt unable to defend my belief, and then it hit
me. I retorted I am sure you love your wife and family. Of course, he snapped.
Well then, I said, how do you measure love?
The first time I visited Mauna Kea, I was awestruck, just like in my
youth. It is a feeling, a belief that cannot fully be explained and certainly
not measurable. The sunset photo I have reminds me of that moment every day.
Thus, it brings me great sadness to see and hear people juxtapose what is
sacred against what is science. The implication is one wrong, and one is right.
The bias is both disrespectful of the Hawaiian people and purposeful
manipulation of what science means. It is a false dichotomy.
For years I have searched for information about natural
places in the Western World we westerners regard as sacred. To date, I have
found only one. It is a forest in the Midwest where the founder of the Mormon
Church received a revelation. Yes, there are a significant number of churches
and other human-made religious icons revered as sacred. I can find no valley,
river, or mountain in the North or South America or Europe regarded by the
westerners as sacred.
In Native
America from Alaska to the tip of South America, there are thousands of natural places regarded as
sacred by the indigenous peoples. From the first days of colonial beginnings,
indigenous peoples and their sacred lands were denigrated, rejected, and
destroyed by the people and governments of the colonies. In effect, they said,
my culture is right; yours is primitive, unholy, and wrong.
Japan, in many respects, is more technologically
advanced than the USA and yet their Shinto traditions are revered. The mere
mention of building a massive telescope on top of Mt. Fuji is unfathomable.
Sacred places and technology have their appropriate places. They have a
cultural tradition ethic not commonly found in Western Society.
My Hawaiian Sister Puna Kihoi has taught me the meaning
of Kapu Aloha; to act only from love, kindness, and empathy. This is the ethic of the protectors, the
Kia‘i and is amazingly noble given the history of sedition toward this sovereign nation. However, I remain somewhat
wary of the telescope’s leaders.
They declare unequivocally that there is no military connection to the project.
During my research on the
beginnings of the telescope proposal,
it is troubling to find the US Department of Defense funds the Lincoln Laboratory. The lab is an
exclusive military R and D facility at MIT. Our tax money intended for space
security and warfare, funds some of the critical work on the "adapted optics" imaging
systems for the TMT.[5] Moreover, Lincoln Labs is collaborating
with the scientists at Keck. There is a military connection on the Mauna.
Detailed information is inaccessible and probably classified. We can only hope
that "national security" will not be used as an excuse to lock Mauna
Kea away.
Many people, including our Mayor, are shocked to learn
as a scientist I do not
support the TMT. People express surprise when I recognize the sacredness of
Mauna Kea and do not
approve of any development on the mountain. They seem to be saying I cannot be a scientist and believe in sacred
lands too. Yes, I find astronomy
and astrophysics an interesting
curiosity. Rather
we should spend the money
on understanding our planet, one that is very sick and needs much restoration from the Western ethic and deeds of
exploitation.
Hawai‘i
is my home; Hawaiian is my adopted culture. I have the honor to be hānai (adopted). I have three sisters, that are friends, and mentors. They enrich my
understanding of what is sacred. In my scientist being, there is much room and
Aloha that honors, respects, and cherishes what is sacred and pono.
For me, it is not about a big telescope versus the
Hawaiians. It is about a centuries-old Western Culture that is too narcissistic and parochial to open its heart and mind to people
other than themselves. Someday they will learn Kapu Aloha.
I stand with my brothers and sisters. ‘Onipa‘a!
References
[1] HUMAN INOCULATION EXPERIMENTS IN HAWAII
INCLUDING NOTES ON THOSE OF ARNING AND OF FITCH M. Mouritz, Honolulu Star
Bulletin Press 1916. http://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v19n2a11.pdf
[4] Are Your Drugs Safe? C. Seifi 2015 https://slate.com/technology/2015/02/fda-inspections-fraud-fabrication-and-scientific-misconduct-are-hidden-from-the-public-and-doctors.html
[5] Lincoln Laboratory Lab Notes November 2010
https://archive.ll.mit.edu/publications/labnotes/visioncorrection.html
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