Because the universe is beautiful enough without having to lie about it

Obama’s first few days

January 25th, 2009 Posted in Creationism, Politics

I’m really beginning to think that we might well see the beginning of the end of the fanatical religious right in America within the Obama presidency. The indications are good so far. He’s shutting down Guantanamo Bay, withdrawing troops from Iraq, and today he announced that he’s lifting the ban on government funding for family planning organisations who give abortion advice.  Yes, that’s right, until now, any aid agencies that advised young mothers in Africa who had terminal AIDS, to abort early pregnancies where the child was at great risk of catching the disease (and ultimately, dying in pain, and probably orphaned) were prohibited from obtaining federal funds.  Yay for George Bush and his absurdly fundamentalist policies!

The most amazing thing about the first few days of presidency is that Obama has managed already to remove several utterly heinous bits of US policy that should never have been put into law in the first place. What’s struck me the most is how susprised and uplifted I’ve been by the msot powerful man on Earth doing what any sane, honest and kind human being would doin the circumstances. Eight years of Dubya’s monkey-brained ineptitude have actually succeeded in dulling my sense of outrage at just how much he managed to screw up for the world at large.

Of course, this all poses the question of whether or not Obama will finally manage to stamp out Creationism in US schools. Recent votes in Texas, amongst other places, have barely managed to keep science teaching on the straight and narrow, but the IDiots are fighting hard. I think they realise that this is their last chance to save their fictional delusions from a last slide into obscurity and ridicule.

Mr President – I appreciate that this probably isn’t top of your agenda, but maybe it should be – your job as President must include re-establishing a climate of scientific excellence in the US education system, and in the minds of the people of America at large. The future of the human race lies in rationally and sensibly evaluating the evidence before us and making choices based on clear, concise and reasoned scientific processes – not on the whims of Oprah Winfrey.

If Obama wants to be remembered for something other than his race, then his best bet is to steer America back on the path towards technological innovation and open-minded humanist rationalism. That would go a very long way to wiping out the damage done by his predecessor.

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