Becuase Everything Else Sucks

The Grand Canyon’s Existence is Offensive to Creationists

By Manila Ryce
Published Monday, January 1st, 2007, 6:54 am
Filed under: Society/Culture: Religion, Science and Technology, Society/Culture, US Politics

How old is the Grand Canyon? A knowledgeable geologist would say that the canyon itself was formed within the past 5 or 6 million years. Fairly young by geological standards, but far too old for those who think Jesus’ life was similar to a Flintstones cartoon. Of course, anyone who watches the Colbert Report knows that the facts are not to be trusted. When it comes to geology, such accepted information is downright offensive to Bush administration appointees at Grand Canyon National Park. “In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Executive Director Jeff Ruch.

This denial of reality has extended far beyond the personal beliefs of park officials, affecting all employees and visitors. Employees of the park are not permitted to give an official estimate of the canyon’s geological age, and are instead required to reply with “no comment” if posed with the question. A pamphlet providing guidance for staff in making distinctions between science and religion when speaking to park visitors about geologic issues has also been suppressed since 2002 by Bush appointees.

As if that weren’t idiotic enough, a book claiming the Grand Canyon was created by Noah’s flood rather than geological forces has been on sale at the park for over three years now. In August 2003, Park Superintendent Joe Alston attempted to block the sale of the inaccurate biblically-based book, only to have his decision overruled by National Park Service (NPS) headquarters. Records also show that during the same year, Grand Canyon officials rejected 22 books and items from the bookstore while only approving the sale of the one creationist book. Executive Director Ruch added, “this is equivalent of Yellowstone National Park selling a book entitled Geysers of Old Faithful: Nostrils of Satan.”

With the outright denial of evolution, global warming, geology, and the situation in Iraq, I’m beginning to think that the Bush administration is stuck inside some sort of bizarro vortex in which everything they perceive is the opposite of how it really is. PEER has urged the new Director of the NPS, Mary Bomar, to remove the book from sale at the park, allow park staff to honestly answer questions from the public, and to finally approve the suppressed employee pamphlet. Ruch added, “We sincerely hope that the new Director of the Park Service now has the autonomy to do her job.”

source

Update: Ranger X claims to have debunked this story by exposing an ulterior motive to PEER’s press release. Read his post to find out more about his findings and decide for yourself.

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10 Responses to “The Grand Canyon’s Existence is Offensive to Creationists”

  1. Because supressing the facts has always been a strong political strategy.

    I’ve studied political science, especially Latin American politics, and it’s pretty clear that under President Bush, the US is following a path that will lead to the destruction of the democratic political system as we know it.

    A Nomad
    01/2/07 at 3:00 am

  2. I’m not often surprised by this administration anymore, but this story was actually quite shocking and equally depressing. I shudder to think of what two more years of this will bring.

    matt
    01/2/07 at 2:35 pm

  3. Goddamit, this is why I can’t stand Religious Idiots! They’re wrong even about the stuff they’re right about! Yes there was a flood, massive flooding in fact as the glaciers receded after the last ice age. Almost every culture in the world has a legend about it. The thing is, it happened more than 13,000 years ago, not the ridiculous 4,500 that they claim. Of course, there I go again, getting all ’sciency.’ Seriously, if these people really don’t want to use their higher brain functions, then it’d be better for the rest of us if they’d just stick an ice pick up their noses.
    For you religious idiots, it’s not suicide, it’s called a labotomy. I figure that if you’re going to spend your whole life not thinking and wiping up your own drool, you can at least shut up while you do so.
    Happy New Year, fuckers.

    PapaFigue
    01/3/07 at 8:43 am

  4. There are a lot of problems with this story. My investigation turned up a lot. Don’t believe everything you read.

    http://parkrangerx.blogspot.com/2007/01/dont-believe-everything-you-read.html

    GRC sells books, not the NPS. GRC is a private, non-profit group. They also sell American Indian books with creation myths. The book in question is in the “inspirational” section. Most of PEER’s claims are wildly unsubstantiated.

    Ranger X
    01/3/07 at 1:04 pm

  5. @Ranger X
    Thanks for following through with that information. This has turned out to be an even better story about Ruch and PEER now. I wonder if Ruch’s motivation for his misinforming press release is a disdain for religion, or as retaliation against certain people at the NPS. If you find out more, be sure to let us know. I’d love to do another follow-up post about Ruch.

    Manila Ryce
    01/3/07 at 4:45 pm

  6. @Ranger X: I don’t. Which is why I also did research that only supports Manila Rice’s original claim, (cuz I thought the shit was too stupid to believe as well!)

    http://www.time.com/time/columnist/jaroff/article/0,9565,783829,00.html

    Yes, Time magazine. Don’t think the shit’s made up. It’s real. The Christians will destroy this world.

    PapaFigue
    01/4/07 at 1:00 am

  7. And so the plot thickens. Hell, I’m half-tempted to put this argument to rest by driving to the Grand Canyon and finding out for myself. It’s also possible that they had a creationist agenda, but abandoned it as a result of all the negative publicity from the story. Perhaps that would account for these conflicting reports.

    Manila Ryce
    01/4/07 at 1:15 am

  8. This story is turning out to be very interesting indeed. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it unfolds as we receive more information.

    @Papafigue
    Once again you’ve used a story about extreme Christians to make offensive and ignorant generalizations about a faith you obviously don’t understand at all. I just spent 30 min. speaking with a high ranking clergyman of a Christian Church who explained to me why he cried when Saddam Hussein was executed because it showed that we have rejected the God-given gifts of life and reason. He told me he was depressed over the current state of the United States: “Bush speaks of 3,000 troops and 50,000 Iraqis being killed so casually. If 50,000 dogs had died then Americans would have cried with outrage, and called him cruel!” So, don’t lump every Christian into the same category.

    Also, 13,000 years ago? Where did you get that number from? Science says 5 to 6 million years ago, Creationists say 4,500, what school did you go to. Maybe next time you want to get all “sciency” you should put a little more effort into it.

    matt
    01/4/07 at 12:15 pm

  9. @Matt:
    I was talking about Religious Idiots. If you and your fellow Christians are not Religious Idiots, then you have nothing to worry about. It’s clear you don’t personally identify with those religious idiots, but if history is any indication, moderate voices such as yours are chillingly silent.
    The fact of the matter is, the Idiots selling Creationist Books that treat the Flintstones like National Geographic are the same idiots running things right now.
    Also, I said that the idiots were right about a flood, but wrong on the date. I thought it was implied, but maybe I should have spelled it out, The Grand Canyon Wasn’t Caused by the Flood!! The Scientific estimate of the Grand Canyon’s formation is indeed 5-6 million years ago. The Scientific estimate of the End of the Last Ice Age is around 13,000 years ago. Don’t worry about my efforts in getting ’sciency,’ worry about yourself and your abyssmal reading comprehension.

    PapaFigue
    01/5/07 at 5:39 pm

  10. I personally called the Grand Canyon and they clearly stated in no uncertain terms that this is false. If you look at their website they mention the estimated ages of the grand canyon as being millions of years. This is a myth, don’t spread it around. If you want to know the truth, it’s a quick phone call to check out the truth.

    Christopher Taylor
    10/7/07 at 8:04 am

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