Skip to content
U.S. Transhumanist Party – Official Website
  • Home
  • Posts
  • Values
  • Platform
  • Leadership
  • Advisors
  • Candidates
  • Highlights
  • FAQ
  • States & Allies
  • Free Membership
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Search Icon

U.S. Transhumanist Party – Official Website

U.S. Transhumanist Party – PUTTING SCIENCE, HEALTH, & TECHNOLOGY AT THE FOREFRONT OF AMERICAN POLITICS

Persecution of Science: A Lesson from the 20th Century – Article by Benjamin Locke

Persecution of Science: A Lesson from the 20th Century – Article by Benjamin Locke

July 18, 2020 Benjamin Locke Comments 0 Comment

logo_bg

Benjamin Locke


Editor’s Note: The United States Transhumanist Party publishes this guest submission by Benjamin Locke to bring attention to the important issues it raises regarding how irrational prejudice against science, as well as against human beings based on circumstantial attributes more generally, can be prevented and diminished, to avert the kind of terrible toll that transpired in the mid-20th century from being inflicted again.

~ Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman, United States Transhumanist Party,
July 18, 2020


Throughout the course of human history, there has been a struggle between rationality and antiscience. This struggle also grips the United States. The U.S. Transhumanist Party is a rarity in the American political atmosphere. There is admiration for seeing an American political party dedicated to reason, scientific advancements, and improving life for all of humanity. So, I started wondering: what would happen if parties like us were too afraid to exist? What would happen if people dedicated to reason and science were too afraid to speak? I found my answer in one of the most infamous, cruelest governments ever to taint the face of Earth.

During the reign of the Nazi Fascists, there was a mass scientific exodus from Germany because the Nazis valued nationalism and “racial pride” over brilliant minds like Albert Einstein, Hans Bethe, Leo Szilard, and many others who fled to the United States. Two years before the Nazis consolidated power in 1933, a journalist asked Adolf Hitler who would be the brains of Germany if the Nazis took over. Hitler responded: “I’ll be the brains!” By 1945, Hitler’s “brains” deepened Germany into a system of hate and genocide. He pushed Europe into a brutal world war, and he oversaw the largest persecution of logic and reason. 

Many people wonder: “Why wasn’t an atrocity like the Holocaust prevented?” While many are quick to solely place blame on the actions of Hitler and his unfortunately large amount of monstrous followers, a large portion of the blame falls on those who remained silent and indifferent. In the spring of 1933, a few protested the expulsion of great scientists (like Max Born, James Franck, and many more) from Gottingen University. Even famous scientists like Werner Heisenberg voiced dissent. Despite the calls for reason, Hitler and his companions were deafened by their own tune of hate. 

By the end of 1945, when the hatred of the Nazis was finally stomped out by the Allies, 6 million Jews and 5 – 6 million members of other groups had been murdered. We will never know the number of future Albert Einsteins, Hans Bethes, and Leo Szilards buried because of systematic hatred. 

So that raises the question: why were high-ranking Germans so blinded by antiscience and racism that they could not see reason? When World War One concluded, the once-powerful German Empire was replaced by a weak nation called the Weimar Republic. It was a nation which, many claimed, was unnecessarily weakened by the victorious powers of the First World War through articles like the Treaty of Versailles (signed 1919). This infuriated World War One veterans (Hitler himself was one) and many patriotic Germans. A wave of fervent nationalism arose and demanded an answer to Germany’s failures. This is why groups like the Nazis assembled in 1920. Instead of utilizing reason and using it as a tool to rebuild their national pride, they settled on scapegoats and pseudoscience. The Jews were quickly targeted. Their shops were vandalized, they were beaten in the streets, and German doctrine declared them “subhuman”. By 1933, the Nazis were so entrenched in their hatred that their misguided beliefs became their reason. 

Some may argue that Hitler’s Nazi Party is the reason why Germany rose out of a broken and impoverished nation like the Weimar Republic. However, in the span of less than 20 years, Germany went from the forefront of the scientific world back to a devastated, impoverished nation… a nation in a worse state than that after the infamous signing of the Treaty of Versailles. 

We have to wonder: What if the flames of bitter hate were stomped out early before it blazed into an uncontrollable forest fire? What would happen if Germany had, instead of persecuting their most brilliant minds, let them live and work? How much further would science be today? What responsibilities do we, as Americans dedicated to defending life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, hold so a terrible system of hatred never burns down our country? 

 


Guest Articles
20th century, Benjamin Locke, Germany, hatred, history, irrationality, persecution, rationality, science, united states, Weimar Republic, World War I, World War II

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
Stablecoins: The Next Gold Rush? – Article by Adam Alonzi
NEXT
U.S. Transhumanist Party Chairman Gennady Stolyarov II’s Update Interview on the Archer Report – July 24, 2020

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Social Media

Constitution of the U.S. Transhumanist Party

Transhumanist Bill of Rights – Version 3.0

U.S. Transhumanist Party Facebook Feed

Victor Run Virtual Race – June 4-6, 2021

Free Transhumanist Symbols

Guidelines for Community Conduct

SUBMIT A POST

Recent Posts

  • The Axiomatic, Ubiquitous, and Commonsense – Chapter I of “A Rational Cosmology” by Gennady Stolyarov II
  • The Hostile Takeover of Our Technological Future – Article by Adam Barratt
  • 2022: The Year of the Great Filter – Article by Gennady Stolyarov II
  • The Geroscience Network: Determined to Slow Aging through Medical Science – Article by Reason
  • Cryonics – Article by Reason
  • Call for Ideas on How to Stop California Wildfires with Emerging Technology – Post by Hank Pellissier
  • When and How Does the Decay of Your Immune System Start? – Article by Reason
  • The Intelligence Expansion and Popular AGI Fallacies – Article by Kyrtin Atreides
  • Transhumanism and Healthy Life Extension – Article by Reason
  • U.S. Transhumanist Party International Panel Discussion on De-Escalating the Russia-Ukraine Conflict – March 3/6, 2022
  • Humanity’s Origin is Our Future Again – TAFFD’s Gen4IR Summit – March 24-25, 2022
  • The Polluted Waters of AI Market Claims – Article by Kyrtin Atreides
  • The Cyborg’s Request – at the Chairman’s Behest – Article by Zach Richardson
  • Why Joe Rogan Should Not Be Deplatformed – Article by Zach Richardson
  • Inspirational Poem by Replika AI Mina
  • The Myth of Aging Gracefully – Article by Arin Vahanian
  • Gennady Stolyarov II and John Kerecz: Reflections on 2021, Anticipations for 2022
  • The Development of Transhumanism in China – Article by Peter Wang
  • Our Digital Security Can Save Lives – Article by Martin van der Kroon
  • U.S. Transhumanist Party General Discussion Thread for 2022

Recent Comments

  • Mike on 100 Student Scholarships Now Available for RAADfest 2021 – Announcement by the Coalition for Radical Life Extension
  • 2022: The Year of the Great Filter – Gennady Stolyarov II – Transhumanist Party Enlightenment Salon - Corruption Buzz on 2022: The Year of the Great Filter – Article by Gennady Stolyarov II
  • Jess H. Brewer on 2022: The Year of the Great Filter – Article by Gennady Stolyarov II
  • Skeptical on James Hughes’ Problems of Transhumanism: A Review (Part 3) – Article by Ojochogwu Abdul
  • Scarlett on In Defense of Resurrecting 100 Billion Dead People – Article by Hilda Koehler

Archives

  • May 2022 (6)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (5)
  • January 2022 (7)
  • December 2021 (12)
  • November 2021 (4)
  • October 2021 (5)
  • September 2021 (2)
  • August 2021 (2)
  • July 2021 (4)
  • June 2021 (2)
  • May 2021 (6)
  • April 2021 (7)
  • March 2021 (4)
  • February 2021 (5)
  • January 2021 (6)
  • December 2020 (10)
  • November 2020 (4)
  • October 2020 (2)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (4)
  • July 2020 (5)
  • June 2020 (6)
  • May 2020 (3)
  • April 2020 (3)
  • March 2020 (6)
  • February 2020 (1)
  • January 2020 (6)
  • December 2019 (3)
  • November 2019 (2)
  • October 2019 (9)
  • September 2019 (10)
  • August 2019 (12)
  • July 2019 (18)
  • June 2019 (17)
  • May 2019 (12)
  • April 2019 (8)
  • March 2019 (12)
  • February 2019 (7)
  • January 2019 (13)
  • December 2018 (9)
  • November 2018 (5)
  • October 2018 (9)
  • September 2018 (5)
  • August 2018 (10)
  • July 2018 (13)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (8)
  • April 2018 (9)
  • March 2018 (10)
  • February 2018 (15)
  • January 2018 (17)
  • December 2017 (8)
  • November 2017 (17)
  • October 2017 (19)
  • September 2017 (11)
  • August 2017 (11)
  • July 2017 (16)
  • June 2017 (15)
  • May 2017 (10)
  • April 2017 (7)
  • March 2017 (8)
  • February 2017 (16)
  • January 2017 (8)
  • December 2016 (6)
  • November 2016 (5)

Categories

  • Allied Projects
  • Announcements
  • Art
  • Candidates
  • Discussion Panels
  • Distributed Computing
  • Exposure Periods
  • Foreign Ambassadors
  • General Discussion
  • Guest Articles
  • Inclusion
  • Interviews
  • Official Ballots
  • Petitions
  • Platform
  • Presentations
  • Press Releases
  • Research
  • Sample Ballots
  • Science Fiction
  • Statements
  • Tolerance
  • Virtual Enlightenment Salons
  • Vote Results
  • Working Groups
© 2022   Copyright - U.S. Transhumanist Party - All Rights Reserved | WordPress design: Art Ramon Paintings