I realised this morning what this government’s science and education policy reminds me of.
Back in communist Bulgaria we had a joke. It went like this:
The glorious leader (Todor Zhivkov, if you must know, but I like calling him the glorious leader), the Pope and a bloke on his gap year are on an aeroplane, and the plane gets into trouble. Let’s say it flies through an ash cloud. With the plane about to crash, the three of them find they only have two parachutes between them.
Zhivkov says, “I am the leader of a nation that is on the cutting edge of science and technology. Without my leadership the world will suffer a serious setback in scientific progress. I must have a parachute.” And off he goes.
The Pope turns to the student and says, “I have made my peace with God, my child. He will take care of me. You are young, you have your whole life before you, take the other parachute and save yourself.”
The boy looks at the Pope and says, “Thank you Father, but there’s no need. The guy on the cutting edge of scientific progress couldn’t tell the difference between a parachute and a backpack. So I’ll have to get a new tent, but at least both you and I can save ourselves.”