This is a very odd way to put this, as a battle between elites. Scientific research is a general benefit to the entire US economy, one of its greatest strengths that makes the US economy so much better than anywhere else in the world.

How does framing this as a competition between elites even affect the common person? Shouldn't I care about what helps the US the most? I don't give a damn about elites or taking sides or being on a side of that battle. I want what's best for the US.

> Academia is experiencing the consequences of its failure to live up to its promises to society and hold itself accountable for the negative externalities of its own agenda.

I'm sorry but could you explain any of this? There's a lot of assumptions in here that I can not even begin to unpack, and any possible meaning I can assign to your statements here are easily disproven with even a minimum of research, so I don't want to misunderstand you.