Once upon a time, there was a bizarre Superstition. Though harmless in small doses, the superstition, when over-fed with power, became larger, meaner and hungrier . . . A Superstitious Beast.

(From the New York Times:

"A New Screen Test for Imax: It's the Bible vs. the Volcano

By CORNELIA DEAN

Published: March 19, 2005

The fight over evolution has reached the big, big screen.

Several Imax theaters, including some in science museums, are refusing to show movies that mention the subject - or the Big Bang or the geology of the earth - fearing protests from people who object to films that contradict biblical descriptions of the origin of Earth and its creatures." etc.)

Part Two: "Is The Earth Flat?"

As the hungry, mean Superstitious Beast attacked the People and the Truth, devouring both, a tired, confused Hero emerged. In earlier times, the Hero had defended The People against rampaging stupidity, ignorance, and Richard Nixon. But today, the Hero was tired and confused. Snarkiness had not vanquished the Superstitious Beast. He would try More Snarkiness, taunt the Beast again, and claim to be "serious this time." Sort of.

Scientific American's (http://www.sciam.com/) April issue features an "April Fool" SA Perspectives (sort of an editor's note) headlined "OK, We Give Up." The graphic is a mock-up of the mag's cover with the headline "Is The Earth Flat?" with other articles titled "The Myth of the Atom." "Let's just ignore CO2," "15 Good Points By Creationists," and "Reason, Shmeason."

The piece recounts the many letters the editors receive imploring them to "leave politics out" of their science coverage and to stop promoting evolution as fact. (The mag runs some of these letters). The editors promise to turn over a new leaf and start "balancing" Sci-Am's coverage between traditional scientists and the devotees of Intelligent Design. They admit the magazine has been biased in the past, and blame the scientists, who "dazzled us with their fancy fossils, their radiocarbon dating, and their tens of thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles. As editors, we had no business being persuaded by mountains of evidence."

Then the editorial broadens out a bit:

"Good journalism values balance above all else. We owe it to our readers to present everybody's ideas equally and not to ignore or discredit theories simply because they lack scientifically credible arguments or facts. Nobody should succumb to the easy mistake of thinking that scientists understand their fields better than, say, U.S. Senators or best-selling novelists do. Indeed, if politicians or special-interest groups say things that seem untrue or misleading, our duty as journalists is to quote them without comment or contradiction. To do otherwise would be elitist and therefore wrong."

The piece goes on to promise that Sci-Am will no longer point out that missile defense is hare-brained, Bush's environmental policies will lead to more pollution, etc. (April Fool).

Discussion

So at least Scientific American is not cowed by the psychotics. But almost everyone else, for some reason, is. Why is that?

Last fall, National Geographic ran a cover piece headlines "Was Darwin Wrong?" Although the article itself came down solidly on the side of science and reason, the presentation kicked off a renewed debate on the validity of "Intelligent Design" and other faith-based pseudo-science. It was a landmark moment, elevating the Superstitious Beast to the level of enlightened reason for the first time in more than 50 years.

That magazine feature reported the results of a series of polls taken in the 1990s which concluded that more than half of all Americans believe in the literal Bible story of creation--and not in evolution.

This stunning, shameful fact indicts every reasonable American citizen. We have failed to educate children in the most basic fundamentals, not just of science, but of reasonable thinking and analysis. This problem goes far beyond the question of evolution versus Garden of Eden.

The result of this failure is rampant 'magical thinking.' You see it everywhere, not just among the "religious." You see it in the lottery players in almost every household, the legions who shape their lives around the pronouncements of their Tarot readers. You see it on Wall Street where people behave always, always, as if "past performance predicts future results." You see magical thinking among the criminals on the street corners of Baltimore, dreaming of the big score even after years in prison. Magical thinking, faith-based psychosis, infects America's foreign policy in every facet--from "Plan Columbia" to ANWAR drilling to "Operation Iraqi Freedom." The Future is always Brighter, because of Inevitability. Because God is on Our Side. Because "We're the U.S.A., Mutherfocker!"

Journalists are as susceptible to society's delusions as anyone. But we're supposedly skeptics, who don't just quote the boss but actually read the audited books that allegedly underlie the latest break-through policy.

And then question the auditors.

Hard work. Due diligence. When we do this, we see that (as with the "Social Security crisis"), the books are usually cooked.

Yet we seldom do it.

Too easy to report a "good story" and get "the other side" of the "debate." Keeps the angry letters down to a dull roar. Keeps the ignoramuses ignorant.

In the 1970s, mystical psychosis was about annoying street Moonies selling flowers, the antic rantings of John Birchers and pre-millenialistic Baptists. It was a sideshow.

In 2005, Mystical psychosis is no longer amusing. Sun Myung Moon has been "coronated" by U.S. Congressmen--the same ones who back the U.S. Space Command's plan for "Full Spectrum Dominance." Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) has been spotted shilling in a fund-raising video aimed at End Times Christians.

It is a rising flood, and it is lapping at the doorway of rationality.

The choice: get to work on the dikes and pumps . . . or float off on the rickety raft, SS Fair & Balanced. Storms a brewin'.

Delusional Disorder

For at least 1 month the patient has had delusions that are nonbizarre (the content is something that could reasonably happen). These may be:

Erotomanic Type. Someone (often of higher social station) is in love with the patient.

Grandiose Type. The patient has exaggerated ideas of identity, knowledge, power, self-worth, talent or special relationship to God or someone famous.

Jealous Type. The patient's spouse or lover has been unfaithful.

Persecutory Type. The patient (or a close associate) is in some way being intentionally cheated, drugged, followed, slandered or otherwise mistreated.

Somatic Type. The patient notes physical sensations or bodily dysfunctions (foul odors, insects crawling on or under skin) that imply a general medical condition or physical defect.

Mixed Type. The patient has two or more of the above themes in about equal portions.

Unspecified Type.

The patient has never met the "A" criterion for Schizophrenia, except that hallucinations of touch or smell may be present if they are related to the theme of the delusions.

Functioning and behavior are not markedly affected, apart from direct consequences of the delusions.

The duration of any mood symptoms accompanying delusions as been brief as compared to the duration of delusions.

This disorder is not directly caused by a general medical condition or the use of substances, including prescription medications.

3/20/05

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