Hello, science advocates.
For once, the rational people are the ones outside Noah's Ark.
I'm sorry I can't be there in person with you today,
but I wanted to join you
in sending a message to the rest of the country
about how embarrassed we are by this park.
When I was putting together some of my thoughts for this,
I pulled up the speech I made at the opening day of the Creation Museum,
and it turns out not very much has changed since then.
I am still embarrassed that people might walk away from this park
thinking it's an actual replica of something that actually happened.
I'm still embarrassed that Kentucky officials speak positively about this theme park
without mentioning all the scientific misinformation that's inside of it.
I'm still embarrassed that this park is marketed to children
who might walk away from it thinking this is actually a part of history.
And as an Indian person,
I'm still embarrassed that, according to the exhibits inside,
my people didn't even exist 6,000 years ago.
The only thing anyone will learn after touring this boat
is that creationists have way too much money at their disposal.
It's hard to fight faith with facts
when the other side has nearly 100 million dollars at their disposal
in part thanks to the help of state officials.
We can do it, though.
It just means not letting them get away with these lies.
Those of you who live nearby, and can visit this park often,
would be doing us all a huge service if you could
make a website, you know, documenting the different exhibits inside,
what's wrong with them, and what science actually tells us.
I would love for someone to make a scientific walking tour of the ark,
so that I could download it and listen to people who actually understand science
as I go through exhibits made by people who don't.
And I want to make very clear here:
the problem isn't Christianity.
This is bad science, and plenty of Christians agree with us.
Many pastors will tell you that this ark is a perversion of the Bible.
The book of Genesis was never meant to be taken literally.
We need to hear their voices more than ever.
And we need them to convince their congregations to appreciate science,
instead of Ken Ham's fantasy world.
You're all here because you support critical thinking
and you know young people would be in awe of science,
if only they had a proper understanding of it.
Think about all the children whose curiosity and imagination will be stifled
because their parents are taking them to this theme park and the Creation Museum,
instead of places where they might actually learn something.
This place takes childlike curiosity
and rips it apart by telling kids,
and a lot of uneducated adults,
lies about how our world and all the species inside of it came to be.
It's unfair to them
and it's up to all of us to undo that damage.
I haven't even walked through the ark yet, obviously,
but I can tell you what you won't see inside of there:
unanswered questions.
And that may be the most depressing thing of all.
Ken Ham and his team pride themselves on the idea that the book of Genesis
answers everything we need to know about our creation.
Real scientists know better.
They know that we will never know everything.
But if we ask good questions,
and if we do good research,
and if we're willing to revise and strengthen what we do know,
we will get closer to understanding what's really going on.
There's no critical thinking in this ark.
There was no research that went into the exhibits.
It's all made up.
This ark is the result of cash, not science.
And that's the message that needs to come out of your activism today.
This isn't about being anti-religious, or even anti-Christian.
This is about the kids
and our desire for them to get a proper understanding
about how our world came to be.
We want them to think for themselves
and understand the methods that scientists use
to answer the toughest questions about our existence.
So, when you go back home,
energized from this rally,
please find a way to promote scientific inquiry in any way you can.
Don't let the creationists, with their multimillion-dollar exhibits,
gain the upper hand here.
My name is Hemant Mehta and I write at FriendlyAtheist.com
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