"We live in a post-factual world."

[TheWPCTraveler]

Lefil said:

StarDoor said:

When the right refuses to believe in science, data, and evidence, it's derided as climate change denial.

When the left refuses to believe in science, data, and evidence, it's celebrated as tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism.

Do you see the difference? When the right believes something contrary to science, they're attacked for it. So why does the left get a free pass in denying biology and evolution?

The fact is the right tends to be religeous nutcase who believe in Creationism. Recet polls show support for evolutionary biology among Republicans have been disturbingly dropping.

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/30/publics-views-on-human-evolution/

"sizable differences by party affiliation in beliefs about evolution, and the gap between Republicans and Democrats has grown. In 2009, 54% of Republicans and 64% of Democrats said humans have evolved over time, a difference of 10 percentage points. Today, 43% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats say humans have evolved, a 24-point gap."

While I cannot defend them from a scientific viewpoint (though I can defend them reasonably well from a logical one), I can absolutely defend them over a moral viewpoint.

Creationism, in its purest form, states that all beings were created by some creator (like God, for instance). Therefore, since the creator created all beings (including us), all "natural" rights are granted by this being. The last part is a leap of faith, but it provides a handy justification for why things like murder and cannibalism should be illegal. Do note that this belief in itself did not stop countless wars, including "holy" ones, and sacrifices as well.

The alternative is to accept that our rights to live and so forth are granted by fellow humans...and can be revoked by fellow humans. Not exactly reassuring given our history as a species.

I realize that my statement is entirely meaningless to some, since I defend it on moral grounds, and I know that my argument is shaky.