External Pressure to Produce Internal Change

Some stalwarts of the anti-OA camp remain unwavering in their opposition. Chief among these are the likes of Nature, which produced editorials highly critical of the OA movement. While OA has made significant strides, especially with the great success of OA publishers such as PLoS and Biomed Central, its progress is slow.

The forces at work are in a near stalemate, locked in an internal struggle within the scientific community. We find ourselves at a tipping point, perched upon the peak of the mountain of choice. On one side we are presented with the barren desert of the closed access status quo; on the other we have the verdant forest of OA progress. However, neither combatant can generate sufficient momentum to surge over the edge.

Into this quagmire must the public come. Take, for example, a plumber (whom, according to Sarah Palin, represents the American “Common” Man). Now this plumber, lets call him John to avoid any confusion with the “real” plumber, he hears a mention of the OA debate and is overwhelmed with apathy — an expected result. Not only does the topic initially seem uninteresting; to him, it is like a war between the Zorgons and Blastothons on the planet Marsas. (This shabbily written example is purely fictitious. Any resemblance to actual aliens is incidental and does not express the views of the author on what surely are peace-loving creatures.)

However, John might well find a certain Quote of a certain Doctor from a certain Civil Rights Movement quite interesting: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In other words, it DOES matter. The OA discussion DOES matter to John, not only for the sake of justice itself, but also for the improvement of science as a whole, which will inevitably improve John’s life in one way or another.

So now I make my plea. I call on all the Johns of the world, all of the Jills, all of the non-scientists and all of the public. This fight is your fight as well. Make your voice heard and throw your support in for the OA movement. Disregard the myopic assumption that not caring is for the best faring. Call your Representative, write a letter to the editor, throw a fundraiser for PLoS, do ANYTHING. Just don’t do nothing at all.

Nathan