Excerpts from Wilson’s testimony are often edited to make it sound like he was up against an antagonistic Senator who saw no value in science other than national defense.

But that wasn't the case! It was a friendly crowd. Senator John Pastore of Rhode Island strongly supported the project, and his questions for Wilson were mostly for the purpose of building a case the committee could present to members of Congress who weren't yet on board.

Senator Pastore asked Wilson how he would justify a large-scale pure science project like Fermilab to someone focused on national security.

How would it contribute to the national defense?

Wilson's reply is wonderful.

There are many economic reasons to fund basic science. Nothing else gets a comparable return on investment.

But a perfectly good and sufficient reason to make this a priority is that the pursuit of science — the drive to understand the natural world — is one of the things that make us who we are.

How would basic science contribute to national defense?

"Only from a long-range point of view, of a developing technology. Otherwise, it has to do with: Are we good painters, good sculptors, great poets? I mean all the things that we really venerate and honor in our country and are patriotic about.

In that sense, this new knowledge has all to do with honor and country but it has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to help make it worth defending."

— Robert Wilson

It should be noted that Wilson was himself an accomplished sculptor whose artistic and architectural vision defined the Fermilab campus!

Images: Fermilab

https://history.fnal.gov/historical/art_arch/wilson_sculpture_overview.html