Show of Hands: Who Doesn’t Believe in Evolution?

Don’t you hate it when you get asked tough yes or no questions? This must be particularly tough for politicians, especially when asked about the touchy subject of evolution (in the US of course. Elsewhere in the world, posing the question of the reality of evolution is tantamount to questioning the reality of gravity). Although it is still a giant 18 months before the presidential election, the GOP held an informal debate where the famous question “do you believe in evolution?” was asked (click here to see the video). Three of the candidates lifted up their hands (Brownback, Tancredo and Huckabee), and although that may seem shocking to us, we should recall that 3 out of 10 is still lower then the average American populus, where 6 out of 10 either flatly deny it, or are unsure.

What struck me was the reaction from the candidates themselves, particularly John McCain. Although this is merely speculative on my part, I could see, for a moment, a degree of fear in McCain’s eyes as he realized the precarious situation this question put him in. After all, a large percentage of Americans either disbelieve, or are unsure about whether or not Evolution is true, and most of the disbelievers make up a core demographic of the Republican membership. They are primarily the huge Evangelical movement, which now numbers well over 50 million strong.

After his torturous “yes” answer, there was a show of hands for how many people did not believe in Evolution. What seemed funny to me was not the fact that three put their hands up (and these are senators and congressmen, people), but that each one appeared deeply uncomfortable, no doubt wrestling over whether or not to lift up their hand. There is no doubt in my mind that even the others who did not still have no real understanding of Evolution by means of Natural Selection. They probably believe in Intelligent Design, the laughingly unscientific idea the claims that God’s hand guided evolution to eventually lead to the creation of humans.

The struggle McCain and the others faced demonstrates the strange dichotomy of the US: on one side, the adherence to good science, education and secularization, while the other attempts to dismantle the findings of science, re-integrate politics with religion, and banish the teachings of evolution from classrooms. Although a man like McCain probably stands more for the former, his political base is the latter,. It is why, after the question is raised, he asks if he can clarify his position. In reality, he wants only to muddle it, so that his personal beliefs, and that of his constituents, can remain as invisible as possible.