Why the Right Wing Bible Thumpers Are Betting Against America's Future

The right-wing conservatives are betting against America's future.

That's not a speculative observation; it's reality.

When a core part of your political ideology is the denial of science - and science has been at the center of technological and economic advancements that made the US into an innovative and financial power - then you are advocating that the nation move backward.

For those who thought that the Scopes trial settled the issue of evolution, it has been a period of frustrating historical backlash. Those who would cling to the stagnation of creationism are embarked upon a ferocious campaign to cloak the world again in darkness.

As other nations race ahead of America in alternative fuels, scientific research, transportation alternatives and medical advances, the forces of scientific denial in the US are on the march back to the pre-Enlightenment.

A web site devoted to science and its future impact observes:

With a few notable exceptions, most of the contenders for the seat of Republican presidential candidate are outspoken critics of science. They and their supporters refuse to acknowledge the reality of climate change, want science teachers to tell students that human life was created by a spiritual force from beyond space, and suggest that the best way to get out of our debt hole is to cut government funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, which allocate money to cancer research and childhood autism treatments.

But based on recent demographics, these Republicans are out of touch with what Americans on both sides of the political spectrum want, which is more jobs in science, health care, engineering, and technology. Far from appealing to the average American, the Republican anti-science stance may alienate the party further from the mainstream.

Faith can be an inspiring force or it can lead to an infatuation with profound ignorance.

For Martin Luther King, belief meant "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

For many of the Bible thumpers on the right, faith just means turning the lights out on progress.

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