Prophet margin on the rise

So, you know how I was yacking about America's need for prophets a couple months ago? I met one: Tyrone Hayes is, in my opinion, right up there with Tony Kushner and Vandana Shiva. These people are prophets for our time, who are holding our society accountable to its own moral standards by speaking the truth, and thank goodness, loudly.

Tyrone Hayes is a scientist brave enough to call out the various corporate and government agencies that are behaving unethically when it comes to health and the environment in this country, and brave enough to call out the jerks who are making money off these little arrangements while the majority of the harm accrues to the poor and people of color. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and poorer not just in financial terms: poorer environment, poorer health, poorer education, poorer communities, poorer opportunities. It is shockingly consistent.

He is also brave enough to break the scientific community's taboo on "sullying" science with advocacy - he shares his thoughts on all this with the general public at every opportunity, explains the science behind these problems in language that illuminates the complexities rather than glossing them over or dumbing them down, and stresses that we need not only to understand it, but to act on it, to get involved in changing this unethical system.

And, as if all that weren't awesome enough, his playfulness and passion make him a pleasure to watch in action, and to be around.

I highly, HIGHLY recommend that if you ever have the chance to hear him speak, you take it. Check out his website for more information on Dr. Hayes and his research, a web version of his presentation, and his speaking schedule.