Losing the intellectual edge

I know this isn't going to resonate much with most people in America -- certainly not with the large masses of anti-intellectuals that seem to make up most of the voting block -- but I find it truly egregious that the government is now routinely denying visas to visiting scholars for no reason other than that the government doesn't like what they have to say.

This piece in the Christian Science Monitor summarizes the issues.

I can't think of a better way of destroying America as the center of intellectual ferment and the pillar of higher education than this. Academic conferences will be held abroad more and more if key scholars are not allowed to attend meetings here. The best foreign students will seek universities elsewhere (as they are already beginning to do), rather than risk being cut off from return every time they go home for a visit. And, the best American scholars will begin moving to places more congenial for their non-American colleagues.

Just stop and think for a moment about the number of native born Americans you find among the top scholars at the top universities in this country. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it's less than a majority, particularly in the sciences. The reason is that America has been a Mecca for scholars from around the world. If we destroy that, we will slowly lose a very significant number of our greatest intellects.