When compared to the other Republican presidential candidates, Ron Paul seems almost sane (but then, in that crowd so would L. Ron Hubbard). But before you think he will swoop in and save us from far-right theocrats like Huckabee and Romney, think again. When asked what he thinks about evolution, here was his response:
I will have plenty to say about these guys soon enough – I think they are all quite unfit to command a country in the 21st century, since they seem to believe in the methods of the Middle Ages. But let me make one comment…
On a bulletin board I read, someone posed a question: imagine a candidate with whom you agreed on every issue, but who did not “believe” in evolution (I put it in quotation marks because saying that is like saying you don’t “believe” in gravity). Would you support that candidate?
You might think the answer is contingent; what about the other candidates? How do they compare? But I think that doesn’t matter. If a candidate did not “believe” in evolution, then I 100% guarantee that I will not agree with them on many other issues, and these issues will be of utmost import. The First Amendment, for example. Plus, any candidate who thinks one of the most basic laws of science is wrong would then be prey to any other antiscience huckster who wants to deny global warming, the benefits of stem cell research, and the importance of alternative energy sources… and probably dozens of other things.
Once you deny reality, the door to any and all evil is wide open.
And don’t forget: evolution is not the be-all and end-all of creationists. They want to deny the true age of the Universe, and that touches on literally all divisions of science, from astronomy to zoology. Given their way, the entire endeavor of science would be scrapped, replaced with Biblical teachings, and that would just be the start of the reversion of our society to the pre-Enlightenment. This is no exaggeration. One need only read the Wedge Document to see what these folks want to turn our world into.
And Ron Paul buys into that garbage– or he panders to those who do, which is essentially the same thing. Just so’s you know.
