Huck and Chuck

Let me begin by saying that, actual political content notwithstanding (I don't understand how Conservatives can make such a fuss about protecting their 2nd Amendment rights when they are constantly trying to revoke a woman's right to choose), this is one of the best political ads I've ever seen -- honestly, the only word that can adequately describe it is "awesome." I love a good Chuck Norris joke (although I find them less funny now that he's in on it), and it's always nice to find a presidential candidate with a sense of humor. You know what else is nice to find in a presidential candidate, though? A basic understanding of essential scientific principles. This, unfortunately, is one qualification that former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee seems to lack, given his repeated assertion that "if anybody wants to believe that they're the descendants of a primate, they're welcome to do it." Thanks for your approval, Mike, but I'm going to go on believing that I , in fact, am a primate, as are all human beings. Duh, that's, like, so sixth grade...

Look, I don't have a problem with people not believing in evolution (although I'm still not sure I get how evolution and God are mutually exclusive concepts). The fact is, though, that science is important -- it's what cured the plague, brought us the Internet, and made Pamela Anderson an emergency flotation device -- and it should be supported, not shied away from. Huckabee has said that he believes in science, and I'm not contradicting that, but he also said this: "Science changes with every generation and with new discoveries, and God doesn't, so I'll stick with God if the two are in conflict." Whether or not God and science are in conflict, I find troublesome Huckabee's suggestion that science's tendency to change (you might even say "develop") makes it somehow inferior to just trusting in God. If science didn't change with every generation, we'd still be bathing in leeches every time we got a stuffy nose.

Ultimately, the whole issue is too complicated to reduce to a soundbyte, but I think the kind of close-minded attitude that advocates a fear of the unknown is regressive and dangerous, particularly when we put it in a position of power. If Mike Huckabee doesn't want to believe that he's descended from monkeys, that's fine, but when he suggests that it isn't an appropriate question for a presidential candidate because "I'm not planning on writing the curriculum for an eighth-grade science book," he's missing the point in a big way, "Chuck Norris approved" or not.


Sources:
For more on Huckabee, I recommend Matt Taibbi's piece for Rolling Stone.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/06/05/huckabee-im-not-writing-a-science-book/