At dinner recently I said to my kids that I’m glad they’ve seen the Washington Monument in person because I’m not sure it will still be there in a year. This was following nights of rioting when news helicopters showed fires in the capital obscuring the structure. My oldest son scoffed. “They’re not talking about taking down the Washington Monument!”

“Not yet,” I said. 

Nobody would have predicted all the changes we’ve witnessed in 2020, what seems to be evidence of national demoralization. Freedom of assembly and of worship canceled overnight across swaths of the country, with hardly a protest? Revolutionary unrest in the cities? Statues and other monuments defaced or torn down? Serious discussion of abolishing the police? What will come next?

Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture understands that ideas about origins underlie the culture’s attitude toward its past and its future. The American people, and our leaders, are divided and uncertain about our heritage, with its basis in an understanding of man’s designed place in the cosmos. What’s needed is a shot in the arm of positive reinforcement. 

A Purposeful Creator

“The birth of our republic was announced in the Declaration through the pen of Thomas Jefferson,” as Stephen Meyer has written here. “He and the other Founders based their vision on a belief in an intrinsic human dignity, bestowed by virtue of our having been made according to the design and in the image of a purposeful creator.”

The Jefferson Memorial — there’s another one whose continuing intact survival I worry about. The republic stands at a crossroads. As an editor, I’d like to think that words can save our country. But experience shows that words coupled with powerful images are the key.

That’s the reason we are seeking your support now in expanding the CSC’s program of excellent, provocative, and accessible videos. Many of these have been written and directed by our CSC colleague John West. All of them convey the message of a purposefully ordered universe. One that has had a tremendous impact is Human Zoos: America’s Forgotten History of Scientific Racism, documenting how false science undermines the traditional understanding of human dignity. It’s had over 1.8 million views. 

In just the last three months, our videos have had 1.3 million unique viewers. Since last year, they have counted 6.3 million new views.

Free to Watch, Not to Make

The crucial thing about these videos, including the upcoming continuation of the popular Science Uprising series, is that they are FREE on our YouTube channels. However, producing more, and letting the world know about them, is NOT free. Far from it. You, our generous supporters, are aware of that, and we are grateful! Now please help expand the reach of our message!

The need is urgent because another rapid evolution in the culture is toward controls on social and other online media. Scientists are eyeing government censorship of intelligent design content on the Internet. They’ve said so in the journal BioEssays. Do you doubt that using YouTube to censor us would be very tempting?

There could be a narrowing time window in which, with your help, we can reach millions of more viewers and make an important difference for the future. Consider adding to your support now!

Photo credit: IIONA VIRGIN, via Unsplash.