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Jan 2, 2007 
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I once had an argument back in High School with a fellow student that, despite mountains of scientific data, SWORE that the very earth I stand on today was no older than a few thousand years old. Hell, people used to swear the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around US, but they got over it when they were proved wrong… surely we can’t STILL be so blind to science in 2007.
Obviously not. Religious fundamentalism is at an all time high in America, and as such places all over our country are being censored as to not offend the sensitive beliefs of those doing the censoring. Take the Grand Canyon for example. A huge, deep scar in the face of the earth, forged by the eb and flow of the Colorado River over many hundreds of thousands of years.
Park Rangers and other staff at the Grand Canyon National Park are now required to answer questions regarding the geologic age of the canyon with ‘no comment‘.
According to documents released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on the 12/28/06, pressure from officials appointed by the Bush administration has made discussion of the age and creation of the canyon so “un-PC” that a simple ‘no comment’ is all that is uttered.
PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch had this to say about the religious gag order. - “In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology.”
All of this started back when a book went on sale at the Canyon Bookstore that brought forth the theory that the Grand Canyon was not carved over the course of many thousands of years by the flowing river, but in one grand surge caused by the floods and Noah’s Ark. Park officials back up their decision to sell the book, claiming they feel the Park Bookstore to be “like a library” allowing for all points and counterpoints to be expressed. While this is all well and good, laws and park policy dictate that ‘materials are only to reflect the highest quality science and are to closely support approved interpretive themes’. Even more ironic is that two years after the contradictory decision to add such a book to their sale racks, NPS put forth Director’s Order #6 in 2005 which states “The history of the Earth must be based on the best scientific evidence available, as found in scholarly sources that have stood the test of scientific peer review and criticism [and] Interpretive and educational programs must refrain from appearing to endorse religious beliefs explaining natural processes.â€
Odd that such a directive would be in place, yet to this day the only “correct” answer we can give those seeking answers is nothing at all.
