Neanderthals Among Us

by Janet Brazill

Those of us who spent most of our lives in the 20th Century looked forward to the marvels the 21st Century was sure to produce. After all, space travel had accomplished travel to the moon. Could Mars be far behind? Medicine had made enormous strides, solving the secrets of the genome and discovering the life-saving properties of embryonic stem cells. Would diseases be eradicated and longevity extended to unimaginable limits? Surely, only more wonders lay ahead!

Alas, we hadn't taken into account the Neanderthals among us. Especially not the possibility that they would gain political power from greedy, unprincipled politicians. Now we realize that the 21st Century may well see a regression comparable to the Dark Ages of history.

Who would have believed that after a century of such scientific progress there would be people doubting the truth of evolution because they think it conflicts with the Biblical account in Genesis? By one count, more than half the American population believes the entire cosmos was created a mere 6,000 years ago! The only explanation for such credulity is that the idea of evolution threatens their conviction that they are Special Creations of God.

To support their belief, they conduct "biblically correct" tours of museums for home-schooled Christian children to dispute the fossil records on display. Access http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/80595 to view their tour of the Denver Museum showing how they misinterpret exhibits to promote their propaganda.

These Neanderthals have even invaded the entertainment world with a movie released in April called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." A promotion of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution, the film blames evolution for a range of modern movements from Nazism to Planned Parenthood.

As far back as the 18th Century there were religious groups who were certain the world was coming to an end in their near future, so they abandoned possessions, taking "no thought for the morrow," as their Bible instructed. The world did not end. Today 44 percent of Americans believe that Jesus will return to earth sometime in the next fifty years. They therefore have no interest in combating global warming or correcting other conditions threatening our habitat.

The fact that our world is vastly overpopulated, creating environmental degradation and societal problems, does not concern them. Using every other wonder of medical science, they still oppose modern contraceptives because their Bible -- a book describing civilization 5000 years ago when population was sparse -- tells them to be fruitful and multiply. Currently, around the world, a woman dies in childbirth every minute -- more than 500,000 annually. One in three deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth could be avoided if women who want to plan their families had access to contraception. Neanderthals don't care. Professing to "hate abortion," they do nothing to stop the unintended pregnancies that result in 19 million unsafe abortions annually worldwide.

This same attitude prevails against educating our young about their sexuality. Even though one in four teen girls in our country -- more than 3 million total -- has a sexually-transmitted infection, these opponents stubbornly oppose efforts to reduce this alarming statistic with comprehensive sex education. Our Neanderthals evidently feel that the resulting effect on their lives is just punishment for their "sin."

The only hope for the 21st Century is if today's Neanderthals, like their primitive ancestors, are finally replaced by a reasoning species.

Janet Brazill    June 2008