Justice Antonin Scalia is the darling of the conservative elite, and his biting wit and well-reasoned writing generally earns the grudging respect of those on the left as well. Given this well-known intellectual acumen, why is he pandering to creationists?
As we mentioned yesterday, Justice Scalia gave a humorous commencement address at his granddaughter’s high school graduation at the Catholic Stone Ridge High School in Bethesda, Maryland. By all accounts, it was a well-received speech with lots of laugh lines… except there is the one line that seems to give credence to “Young Earth Creationista” — those are the folks that think the earth is no older than 10,000 years, science be damned. Here’s the quote, emphasis added.
“Class of 2015, you should not leave Stone Ridge High School thinking that you face challenges that are at all, in any important sense, unprecedented,” Scalia said, adding that “Humanity has been around for at least some 5,000 years or so, and I doubt that the basic challenges as confronted are any worse now, or alas even much different, from what they ever were.”
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Commentators were quick to point out the link between that line and the proud tradition of pseudo-science (which is somewhat of a generous name for creationism).
Justice Scalia, creationist. http://t.co/HSBdIDGycb #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/xpXfTlwfX2
— Mike Sacks (@MikeSacksEsq) June 5, 2015
Think Progress also points out that Scalia’s math is wrong… by something like 95,000 years.
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Humanity began to develop much more than 5,000 years ago. Early human ancestors began to diverge from the chimpanzee lineage about six million years ago. The first members of the species Homo sapiens are believed to have lived in Africa about 100,000 years ago, and cave paintings and other evidence of human culture exist that are believed to have been created 50,000 years ago.
It’s a curious mention, given that Scalia’s Catholic faith (also the denomination of the school at which he was giving the address) does not oppose evolution. From the 1950s under Pope Pius XII onward, Catholicism and evolution have been at peace with one another, with Pope Francis even going so far as saying a literal interpretation of the story of creation was problematic.
“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said.
“He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment.”
If the shout-out isn’t religious, the real purpose is likely political — so much for the Supreme Court not being the political branch. And that means we live in a country where a smart, respected conservative thinker feels the need to pander to a group of people that truly believe (and teach their children in public schools) that a magician in the sky created the universe in seven days.
God help us all.
Justice Scalia Blows Creationist Dog-Whistle During Graduation Speech At Catholic High School [Think Progress]
Earlier: Justice Antonin Scalia Is Here To Rain On Your Nazi Parade