Sam Throwback.

To see what the hubub is about, check out: Senator Sam Brownback's op-ed against evolution.

I was browsing around the web and I found this little nugget of wisdom:

"In our sound bite political culture, it is rare to hear any nuanced arguments. During the first Republican presidential debates, I was asked whether I believed in the theory of evolution. I answered no. I think it would be helpful to explain my position in more clarity and detail, giving the issue the seriousness it demands.

The heart of the issue is that we simply cannot drive a wedge between observable truth and shit I just assume to be true because it's part of my culture, or I just made it up. I have no doubt that these two classes of truth can coexist without contradiction. The scientific method looks at observable evidence, posits theories which attempt to explain that evidence, and then tests those theories, believing in any individual theory only provisionally. The shit I just make up is cool, like flying robots. These two truths deal with very different questions, but can not - and must not - contradict each other. Because that would just make me look stupid.

When asked if I believed in evolution, if what you meant was: Do you believe that natural selection over long periods of time leads to the rise of new species - I would agree. But I took this view, when actually believed as a higher truth than the assumed truths of my culture, will inevitably lead to an orgy of gay sex and margaritas, and I think we should not, under any circumstances do any such thing at this present time, given the current evidence. Unfortunately, the scientific orthodoxy thinks evolution means just that: gay sex and margaritas. Science should not, must not, answer these grave questions of morality. Only my imagination can answer them. And only in my imagination can I have a pony with wings who talks to me.

I am happy to let the facts stand for themselves - the facts as I IMAGINE them to be. Using my imagination thus allows me to live in a bubble of my own design - one in which every human being is an essentially worthwhile and purposeful entity, who must follow the strict laws that my imagination impinges on them. Only this way can we go further in our quest for knowledge.

While no stone must be left unturned in the search for meaning, we must leave one stone unturned: and that stone is the one under which exists any evidence that might contradict whatever beliefs I happen to hold, like the belief that all of existence is the creation of an god in whose image we are created in; or that I can, if I spend enough money, ride on a dinosaur. Aspects of science which bolster these irrefutable truths are welcome. Those which do not are probably written by gay men and will give you AIDS if you think about them too much.

We must use the reason God gave us, not to question our assumed beliefs, but rather to make them seem more believable to us. Because if we dare question our morality, we might revise our morality, which would be scary.

Without hesitation, I will continue to believe what I believed in the past."