“If any candidate says ‘I believe that the earth is 6,000 years old because the Bible says so’ or that dinosaurs walked around with human beings, then that kind of ignorance will affect something, and we ought to know about it.” – Bernie Goldberg on The O’Reilly Factor, Aug. 30

By Perry Nicklow

Because the journalist most known for his good critiques of media biases, Bernie Goldberg, knows that no good rational answers exist to the evolutionary critique of a literal view of the early chapters of Genesis, we should accept his unbiased, well-informed, and flawlessly reasoned conclusion that none exist.

Goldberg knows that creationists are ignorant of the “irrefutable” ideas of carbon and radiometric dating, visible stars millions of light-years away, and the eons of time required for the Colorado River to form the Grand Canyon. He knows that the Paluxy River archeological find, which showed human and dinosaur tracks together, must have a better explanation than man living at the same time as dinosaurs. It would be ignorant to conclude otherwise.

But when examined, Goldberg’s unbiased broad-mindedness is still more extraordinary. Those who hold to such ignorant cosmologies, rather than embracing the wholly substantiated and more rational “4.5 billion years” model, should have restraints placed upon them. Those with “that kind of ignorance” should be kept in their private cultural corners, should be limited to their religious closets, and should be exempted from broader citizenship participation. Goldberg’s unbiased, broad-minded litmus test for those living in the home of the free is Orwellian group-think that is always attended by a glorious tolerance.

Can we infer from Goldberg’s comments that his disdain for creationism must be similarly held by all candidates who aspire to elected governmental office and most notably for those who would seek the presidency? We know that he would disqualify presidential candidates who hold to young-earth constructs, but would he also disqualify Perry, Bachmann, Cain or Romney if they were sympathetic rather than hostile to “that kind of ignorance”?

Can we wonder aloud how useful Goldberg’s enlightened understanding of ignorance might have been to those ignorant early scientists who at once gave us and applied the scientific method or indeed to many of our ignorant founders who asserted the endowment of inalienable rights from the Creator?

Goldberg has helped me understand that the surgeons, prosecutors, pharmacists and PhDs whom I know to be creationists, along with the more “common Joes” with whom I interact, must each have laid aside reason and intellect to embrace these mindless and ignorant religious teachings.

As Goldberg has done his exhaustive and unbiased research into both cosmologies, he is so confident in his own conclusions that he would disqualify all those noted above from full participation in our democracy. Among all humanity, a more unbiased and evolved understanding would be difficult to find.

It is indeed refreshing to know that Bernie Goldberg’s unbiased assertions are not borne of ignorance.

Perry Nicklow lives in High Point.