As Americans celebrate the country’s 250th birthday, we are seeing more disagreements about science. Debates over vaccines, climate change, artificial intelligence, public health and scientific expertise have become deeply entangled with politics. In some cases, expertise itself is treated with suspicion, and debates about science increasingly reflect broader disagreements about institutions, authority and trust.
Americans don’t have to choose between patriotism and science, tradition and discovery, faith and evidence. Those are false dichotomies. Supporting science — through investment, education and a commitment to evidence — is not separate from patriotism. It is one of its clearest expressions.
The American story has never been about rejecting science. It has been about using curiosity, innovation and discovery to improve lives, expand opportunity and build a stronger nation.
From the beginning, scientific thinking has been woven into the fabric of the American experiment.
Benjamin Franklin was not only a statesman and Founding Father. He was an inventor, scientist and relentless experimenter who helped establish a national tradition of testing ideas and searching for practical solutions. He was not alone. Thomas Jefferson studied agriculture, collected scientific instruments, and founded institutions of learning. The Lewis and Clark expedition was a government-funded exploration and scientific mission that cataloged geography, wildlife and natural resources across the continent.
Generations later, Thomas Edison transformed entire industries through invention. The Wright brothers changed transportation forever. George Washington Carver revolutionized agriculture. In the 20th century, national investments in science — from the Apollo program to the creation of modern research institutions — reflected a shared belief that discovery was central to American strength.
American ingenuity has never come solely from people who were born here. For generations, discoveries by scientists, researchers, physicians and innovators from around the world have enriched our economic strength and our daily lives.
Today, the researchers who developed mRNA vaccines, engineers building reusable rockets and scientists who are advancing cancer therapies are all part of a long American tradition of applied curiosity.
Supporting that work has been central to patriotism. America’s rise was fueled by generations of inventors, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and explorers who believed progress was possible.
That spirit of innovation and discovery remains visible all around us. The smartphone in your pocket, the GPS guiding your car, modern cancer treatments, safer automobiles, commercial aviation and reusable rockets all exist because someone asked questions, tested ideas, learned from failure and kept improving. Many people trust the GPS signal but question the research behind climate models. Others rely on advanced medicine but doubt the institutions that develop and test it.
Americans often celebrate the products of science while expressing skepticism about the process that produces them. Yet the scientific method reflects many of the same values Americans claim to admire: curiosity, humility, independence, accountability and a willingness to follow evidence wherever it leads.
Science is not about demanding blind trust. In fact, healthy skepticism is one of its defining features. Scientists are expected to challenge assumptions, test claims and revise conclusions when new evidence emerges.
That process should feel familiar to Americans. The nation’s founders built a system of government based on debate, inquiry and the understanding that no individual has a monopoly on truth.
America’s future prosperity will depend on whether we continue to embrace that tradition.
The next generation of breakthroughs — in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, energy, medicine and space exploration — will shape economic growth, national security and global competitiveness. Other nations are investing aggressively in scientific research because they understand that innovation drives power. The United States must do the same.
As we celebrate 250 years of independence, Americans should remember that science is not a threat to our values. It is one of the tools that has allowed those values to flourish — and one that will be vital to continuing our progress.