Editor,
It seems like every few weeks or so, some right-wing religious fanatic gets his opinion published in the Daily Lobo. His opinion is valid, of course, except that it lacks a crucial concept - the facts.
The current round of ignorance comes via Dennis Kinzler, whose rousing letter of misinformation and talking points published in the Daily Lobo on Wednesday is standard for zealots. I don't even know where to start, because there was just so much wrong with everything he said. Let us start with the theory of evolution. A theory remains a theory until it is either proven to be an undeniable fact or it is disproved. Despite all the scrutiny the theory of evolution has undergone since its 1859 debut in Darwin's The Origin of Species, it has held up. Not only has it held up but, in fact, has only become more solidified. What I find amazing is how these right-wing fanatics make up their own facts. These self-made facts have a term that is widely used in our culture - lies.
The fact of the matter is evolution has proven to be a valuable and dependable tool. For example, millions of people get a flu shot every year. This vaccine must be modified each year because of the evolution of the influenza virus. We know that the H5N1 virus is only a few mutations away from causing a pandemic. Why do we know that?
I'll give you a hint. It's not because the Easter bunny waves his magic wand and said we could all eat pork again. No. It's because of the theory of evolution. I am assuming from Kinzler's Earth-is-not-billions-of-years-old rhetoric that he thinks Earth is around 5,000 years old and that science should oblige his inability to deal with reality. Well, he and his band of religious militants should look into how we find important resources such as oil.
Again, I will give you a hint. It has nothing to do with the Easter bunny telling you to hate homosexuals. It absolutely amazed me that Kinzler brought up how evolution was not widespread in the scientific community until the 1950s. Now, I do not know the history of when evolution did catch on, so I will not pretend like I do. What I do know is that Kinzler's mind-set is not new. In fact, a quick Google search of the Scopes trial shows that it was illegal in many states to teach evolution in 1925. I think outlawing an idea would slow the concept down a bit, but that is simply my opinion based entirely on fact.
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I would like to conclude with Kinzler's idea that religion is essentially banned in our academic community. Again this is what is called a lie. Religion has a huge place on campus. There are churches, religious organizations and religious classes taught here on campus. Of course, this too is a fact Kinzler and others like him have proven to be irrelevant in their arguments.
Odell Lee
UNM student
