Post a Comment On: Internal Monologue

It could be that disbelief in evolution and church attendance both have a hidden third cause (stupidity?), but this Gallup poll strongly suggests that going to church makes you doubt one of the bedrock scientific ideas of our day. Of course, it could be that Republicanism causes this, as 68% of Republicans don't believe in evolution. But as Pharyngula points out, when people are asked why they don't believe in evolution, the majority of answers are straight out of Sunday school:

% I believe in Jesus Christ 19 I believe in the almighty God, creator of Heaven and Earth 16 Due to my religion and faith 16 Not enough scientific evidence to prove otherwise 14 I believe in what I read in the Bible 12 I'm a Christian 9 I don't believe humans come from beasts/monkeys 3 Other 5 No reason in particular 2 No opinion 3
There are some positions that should be argued against, and some that should be ridiculed and held in utter contempt. I put disbelief in evolution in the latter category. It's thinking like this that is going to contribute to the economic decline of our country. If you were looking for a country to set up a bioresearch lab or medical startup, wouldn't looking at those numbers make you think twice about the United States?

It's polls like this that make you realize George W. Bush is unfortunately not an aberration, but in fact a genuine representative of the faith-based reality denial in which a huge swath of our country indulges. Of course, not every creationist supports George W. Bush. But the kind of thinking at work seems to be the same: God told me the answer, so I don't need to check in with reality to see whether I'm right or not.

Fortunately, Internal Monologue will single-handedly reverse this trend of ignorance. I have to keep thinking positively.