200 years ago today Charles Darwin was born in Shropshire, England. Today should be an occasion to celebrate the life of a man who helped drag us out of the dark ages of blind religious belief, a man whose theories and ideas led to a better understanding of ourselves and our history.

Now the truth of the matter is that for a vast majority of people this date will pass unheeded because very few people will even realize that Darwin was born on this day. Considering the state of the education system these days, it may even be valid to question how many people would even know who Darwin is.

What’s far sadder however is how this giant of science is viewed among the majority of people that do know who he is, especially among the population of the most powerful nation on earth.

Studies suggest that most people today won’t be celebrating the man whose discoveries surely rank among the five most important of our time. Rather people will be damning the man who had the nerve to question God. To most people Darwin is a heretic whose evil theories poisoned the mind and dirtied the soul.

The most recent poll shows that only a shockingly low 14% of people believe in evolution as Darwin advanced it. This is compared to an unbelievable 44% of people that believe that God created humans overnight. If you’re not scared that almost half of the people in the nation with the strongest military this planet has ever seen believe, despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, believe that humans were created whole in a 24 hour period, then you’re likely suicidal. If the judgement of people on this issue that should be so clear cut can be so misplaced, then how comfortable should their access to a nuclear arsenal that can blow up the planet several times over make us?

The willful, childish ignorance of the U.S. to even the most basic scientific knowledge is as ironic as it is scary. Without a doubt no nation has been more on the frontline of scientific discoveries and innovations as the United States has. But the success of this minority cannot justify the complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the majority.

One needs only surf on youtube for a few seconds to find some religious nutjob ranting against the theory of evolution, claiming that the vast majority of scientists, you know, the people that spend years of their lives studying these things, who support Darwins ideas are wrong, but that a book written centuries ago and edited and changed numerous times since is completely infallible. Just one example; www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ4iORFL_Jk

Newton, Galileo and Einstein have all had their ideas validated and accepted. No person in their right mind, even an American, would dare to suggest that gravity doesn’t exist. That Darwin isn’t afforded the same level of respect and acceptance is a shame and a damning indictment of the ignorance of America.