![Enlargement of a portion of a 20-dollar bill showing the "In God We Trust" motto. (Themanwithoutapast at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)](https://www.timesfreepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1ingodwetrust5979725434.jpg?w=550)
The words of academic elites are often overlooked by those of us busy with life. However, there are a number of recent articles from college professors who espouse political perspectives contrary to fundamental American values that should concern all of us.
The first was a recent article in The Wall Street Journal by Harvard psychology professor Steve Pinker. In “The Enlightenment Is Working,” Pinker presents some compelling figures to support his thesis that modern civilization has progressed through science and reason to offer us a world even royalty could not have dreamed of several generations ago. Not only do we have incredible smart phones and comfortably heated and cooled homes, but life spans, infant mortality, the environment, education, freedom, equality and peace are at previously unimaginable levels. Great stuff. Who could disagree?
But he didn’t stop there. People are healthier and happier, Pinker relates, because modern, enlightened world leaders rely on science and reason and courageously discard the shackles of a “father in the sky” (religion) that held humans back for centuries. Pinker severely chastises President Donald Trump for leading the march toward enlightenment backward by praising American exceptionalism and refusing to bow at the altar of liberal global governance.
Never mind that fascist and communist governments guided solely by science and reason killed 26 million people during World War II. Both were outgrowths of enlightened secular societies. Never mind that secular minds gave us weapons of mass destruction, video games that desensitize our youth to the horrors of killing fellow humans, and abortion on demand that snuffs out the lives of millions of the most innocent and unprotected in our nation every year. Science and reason, unchecked by morality and faith, can be every bit as dangerous as they are a blessing.
Next is an article in this paper, “The Complex History of ‘In God We Trust” (last Saturday, page E1), by Temple University professor David Mislin. He argues that the words “In God We Trust” are not reflective of traditional American values.