Someone asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie if he believes in evolution or creationism. His response?
“That’s none of your business,” Christie said.
I kind of like the answer. I wish that was the default answer for all politicians when asked if they believe in God or if they practice any particular religion. So long as politicians don’t try to enact their religious beliefs into law, why should we care about them?
But, more realistically, this question was really more along the lines of “are you a fruitcake looney-tune, or not?” And I think the answer to that question is my business.
Specifically, the debate is over whether or not public schools can teach Creationism. The governor says they can. So, I wonder, does he think they can because he believes it’s the truth? Or, does he just want to appease his wingnutty base? What else does he believe can be taught in public schools? Can they teach that Conan the Barbarian is an historical figure? Can they teach that leprechauns and unicorns actually exist? How about a theory where Joseph Smith looked into a hat and…
I agreed with Bill Bradley’s position in 2000 that his religious views were nobody’s business and very much appreciated his firmness at the time.
However, to me this is different. Evolution is more than theory it’s a science. An elected public official who can easily dismiss an inquiry about their views of evolution may also be dismissive about global warming or that facts show planned parenthood has a positive impact on child development. Christie has become a national political figure. If he wants to play in that field than whether he accepts science is very much our business.
I actually think this question is wrong. Not morally wrong or ethically wrong but just the wrong question to ask. I don’t care if Christie “believes” in evolution any more than I care if he “believes” in Special Relativity.
What I care about is “Does Christie believe in separation of Church and State or not.” And clearly he does not – because he advocates for allowing the teaching of creationism – a religious doctrine not a scientific one – in publicly funded classrooms. (And creationism is a religious doctrine whether you believe in a single God creating humans, a committee of gods creating humans, or a group of space aliens splicing alien DNA into bonobos to create humans – there’s no evidence for any of those scenarios, there’s no way to falsify any of those scenarios, and so they are not science – you hold those beliefs because of faith, not science).
I don’t actually care why he doesn’t believe in separation of Church and State, but the question needs to be asked bluntly – not “do you believe in evolution or creationism” – that’s a stupid question. Make him answer the question about separation of Church and State – that’s one that is OBVIOUSLY not “none of our business” and one that every politician needs to answer and be grilled about when their answers say one thing and their actions say another.
You are absolutely correct. It is a stupid question. But I don’t hold out much hope that anyone within our illustrious media cadre will frame the question in the proper way to Gov. Christie, or any other politician for that matter. Because if you keep it Evolution versus Creationism then it fits very comfortably into the he said-she said argument that has become the de-facto fallback narrative for our brain dead national press. “One side is for Evolution??? One side is for Creationism??? ……..Who’s to know what’s correct??? We dutifully report the existence of conflicting views and you decide.” Finding out which view has more supportable evidence is apparently no longer their job. And it has not been for quite some time.
When will people understand that one doesn’t “believe in evolution” any more than one believes in gravity or palate tectonics or the movement of the tides. One side is backed up by empirical and testable evidence. The other side is backed up by……….nothing but “faith” and contradictory allegorical scribblings in an old book.
Hmmm…“palate tectonics”??? Not sure where that came from. Sounds like a severe orthodontic problem.
Commonly known as tremor tonsils;-)
Christie is wrong. Religious belief can’t be taught in public schools. It would go to court.
What is wrong with him?
Oh, never mind.
Thanks BooMan. That was beautifully put.
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