【正文】 year, the State of South Carolina adopted new science standards for its publicschools amp。ndash。 but the state legislature blocked any mention of natural selection. Thatamp。rsquo。s liketeaching economics amp。ndash。 without mentioning supply and demand.
　　Again, you have to ask: What are they afraid of?
　　The answer, of course, is obvious: Just as members of Congress fear data that underminestheir ideological beliefs, these state legislators fear scientific evidence that undermines theirreligious beliefs.
　　And if you want proof of that, consider this: An 8year old girl in South Carolina wrote tomembers of the state legislature urging them to make the Woolly Mammoth the official statefossil. The legislators thought it was a great idea, because a Woolly Mammoth fossil was foundin the state way back in 1725. But the state senate passed a bill defining the Woolly Mammothas having been amp。lsquo。created on the 6th day with the beasts of the field.amp。rsquo。
　　You canamp。rsquo。t make this stuff up.
　　Here in 21st century America, the wall between church and state remains under attack amp。ndash。 anditamp。rsquo。s up to all of us to man the barricades.
　　Unfortunately, the same elected officials who put ideology and religion over data and sciencewhen it es to guns and evolution are often the most unwilling to accept the scientificdata on climate change.
　　Now, donamp。rsquo。t get me wrong: scientific skepticism is healthy. But there is a world of differencebetween scientific skepticism that seeks out more evidence and ideological stubbornness thatshuts it out.
　　Given the general attitude of many elected officials toward science itamp。rsquo。s no wonder that thefederal government has abdicated its responsibility to invest in scientific research, much ofwhich occurs at our universities.
　　Today, federal spending on research and development as a percentage of GDP is lower than ithas been in more than 50 years which is allowing the rest of the world to catch up amp。ndash。 and evensurpass amp。ndash。 the . in scientific research.
　　The federal government is flunking science, just as many state governments are.
　　We must not bee a country that turns our back on science, or on each other. And yougraduates must help lead the way.
　　On every issue, we must follow the evidence where it leads and listen to people where theyare. If we do that, there is no problem we cannot solve. No gridlock we cannot break. Nopromise we cannot broker.
　　The more we embrace a free exchange of ideas, and the more we accept that politicaldiversity is healthy, the stronger our society will be.
　　Now, I know this has not been a traditional mencement speech, and it may keep mefrom passing a dissertation defense in the humanities department, but there is no easy timeto say hard things.
　　Graduates: Throughout your lives, do not be afraid of saying what you believe is right, nomatter how unpopular it may be, especially when it es to defending the rights of others.
　　Standing up for the rights of others is in some ways even more important than standing up foryour own rights. Because when people seek to repress freedom for some, and you remainsilent, you are plicit in that repression and you may well bee its victim.
　　Do not be plicit, and do not follow the crowd. Speak up, and fight back.
　　You will take your lumps, I can assure you of that. You will lose some friends and make someenemies. But the arc of history will be on your side, and our nation will be stronger for it.
　　Now, all of you graduates have earned todayamp。rsquo。s celebration, and you have a lot to be proud ofand a lot to be grateful for. So tonight, as you leave this great university behind, have one lastScorpion Bowl at the Kong amp。ndash。 on second thought, donamp。rsquo。t amp。ndash。 and tomorrow, get to work making ourcountry and our world freer than ever, for everyone.
　　Good luck and God bless.