ABANDON ALL HOPE

Or at least most of it. 

“The fundies are so frightened they are out of their minds. Imagine being enslaved by such a small, in imaginative and venal interpretation of the Creator of the Universe. If there is a such thing as sin, this is a prime example...” Lisa’s comment on my last entry.

And that attitude is a sin. Not against God but against our humanity. Which, I guess is a sin against Creation, in my opinion. If there is a Creator, whoever He or She is they were the ones responsible for our curiosity, our sense of wonder, our drive to learn how the universe works.

I’ve been watching the new Cosmos. I like what I see so far. And I’ve been replaying my DVD’s. Carl Sagan was not only a great teacher, although he does go on a bit occasionally. He was passionate. Passionate about the search for the truth. Passionate about the right of every child to learn the wonders of Creation. Passionate about our, for want of a better word, humanity.

Russell Crowe’s new movie sounds interesting, I probably won’t see it until it comes out on DVD. But, the chorus has already started. “It’s not like the Bible.” Yo, choristers. You do realize that it’s a story right? You can’t take it literally. Right? You do realize that it’s at least two separate versions cobbled together and really could use a good editor. Right. Wrong. Once you’ve locked yourself into Biblical literalism it’s as if you’ve undergone a do it yourself lobotomy. Denial of scientific evidence. Irrational and willfully ignorant. I have no sympathy for you and almost no respect. Actually, what I'm feeling is a lot closer to contempt than lack of respect. 

Or at least a lot of it. 

We’ve launched ships that have helped write the new books on the Solar System. We have telescopes that can literally “hear” the echoes of the Big Bang. When Voyager reached the other side of Neptune’s orbit they turned the ship around and she took a series of now iconic photographs of all the planets and the sun.

And between twenty and twenty five percent of Americans believe that the earth is standingstill and the entire universe is rotating around us. Face palm, head bounce, loud groan. The article didn’t indicate whether the people polled were also asked about their religious beliefs. However, a little time spent surfing the net has me believing that fundamentalist religious beliefs and scientific illiteracy go hand in hand. Don’t believe me? Try Googling fundamentalism and geocentrism. And despair.

Which leads to a comment I made on another thread.

“Yeah, the fundies are crazy but they're determined. And thanks to misused religious freedom laws in this country they're free to indoctrinate their kids in so called Christian schools. Also free to try to screw up public education because they don't want their little darlings exposed to anything that might shake their "faith."

Here's a news flash for you fundies. I have to share a country with your ill educated offspring. That gives me a say in what they're taught. If you can't prove that your curriculum meets basic standards then we'll close you down.

 Oh, I forgot we don't have any basic, national standards in this country because education should be controlled at the local level so our little darlings don't get contaminated by outside influences. In case you didn't figure it out. this is a pet peeve.” I was really on a roll that night. 

The first amendment states that congress will make no laws regarding religion. It doesn’t guarantee that your neighbors won’t come to the conclusion your bats have left the belfry and aren’t coming back.