Running to the Left

I recently had a conversation that left me concerned about the vast differences between the "left" and the "right."

The day started with me walking into my boss's office to get a cup of coffee. The Fox news website was up on his computer and he was reading an article about the "ant from mars", a recently discovered ant species unlike any other. The article states that scientist think that the species broke from the evolutionary tree roughly 120 millions years ago. After reading this out loud he turned to me and said, "it takes more faith to believe in this than it does in the bible." He obviously expected me to agree with this statement and from his dismissal of science, it's fare to say he thought any rational person would.

I finished pouring my coffee and left the room without saying anything. Returning to my desk I continued to think about this for the next two hours. I believed that most likely what the article said was accurate. I firmly believe in evolution and think the world is billions of years old. I believe in the scientific method and in the quest for knowledge. But what about my beliefs makes it any more right than faith. I know that I could read all the studies that this article is founded on. That I could get a book on entomology, study the variations in the species, cross reference fossil findings to geological time periods and come up with rough time for this species. This is probably the wrong way to tackle this problem but I know that the means are there. I KNOW this. The truth is that I will never do these things and since I will never do these things, I have faith in those that have. I also have faith that, if they are wrong, others will call them out. I know this vetting of ideas is what separates science from religion.

This basic difference in understanding is why I believe that he and I could never agree on this topic. I don't know for a fact but I strongly speculate that he believes that the bible is factual document and that it is the unquestionable authority on all matters, even those not directly covered by it. I don't understand this. Is it because I'm lacking faith or because I look at the world covered between the covers of the bible and see people who fail to see the nature of the world around them. I've found nowhere in the bible an understanding of mental illness, a concept familiar to most modern people. I see no rational explanation for disease or natural disasters. We see floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts everyday and none of them appear to be directly attached to the sins of a people. And if they were, what about natural disasters that effect no one?

Unfortunately, what I do see is many people that agree with him and what I find scary is that all of these people are self proclaimed Republicans. I've hear many conversations to the effect that Democrats are too stupid to understand "common sense", too unAmerican and want to see the U.S. fail, or simply just want to tax everything and give it to the poor (i.e. lazy blacks, mexicans, and/or any other nonwhite). Rush Limbaug and Lou Dobbs are held up as speaking the truth and Fox news as unaffected by the liberal bias. I have literately heard that mexicans crossing the boarder should be shot.

These views are all seen as "American."

This is argument that I hear in the car today. If Barack Obama gets elected than he will create a national health care system. If he creates a national health care system than everyone will have to wait to get any procedure done. If people wait to get a procedure done than baby boomers will end up costing too much. If baby boomers cost too much then they will be euthanized. The logical conclusion: (this statement was actually made) if Obama is elected, seniors will be euthanized!

Wow! What the fuck kind of fucked up logic is that? Please tell me that this is not the shit the "conseratives" are spouting. By their logic, if McCain is elected, I'm going to be put in a concentration camp and executed.

Have things really gone so far?