Intelligent design and popular culture: ID film's Ben Stein "Expels" Sarah Palin, riles some fans

Recently, Ben Stein, star of Expelled, the film about the intelligent design theorists, annoyed some ID folk by his comments about Republican veep choice Sarah Palin, believed friendly to ID,

"Ben Stein Repulsed By Sarah Palin, Thinks Henry Kissinger Should ‘Babysit’ Her" - says Wonkette, who adds, "He is not impressed with Sarah Palin. No matter what weird causes Ben Stein supports, he has never been very forgiving of total idiots."



Critically, he says "This most peculiar vice-presidential choice there has ever been." and "What we have now is back to, what you might call, this fundamentalist, born-again, backwoods values of the United States of America."

Stein professes to love those backwoods (or backwards?) values, but then some people love pickled 'possum innards, or anyway they profess to.

He also noted that he was probably the only person on CNN who believes in intelligent design - which, if true, says something not very complimentary about CNN's claims to be mainstream.

The many comments I've heard from ID folk, break out along these lines:

- Stein's tone and words were "dismissive and demeaning." "It is just like Obama -- in Scranton where the votes are, talking up the small-town folks, and then in San Francisco at the wine and cheese reception, sneering at the rubes."

- More people will see this Palin putdown free than pay to see Expelled.

- ID folk should stop promoting Expelled until Stein apologizes for the damage he is doing, implying that Palin supporters are yay-hoos and rubes.

- Chill out: A guy could be pro ID but anti-Christian. What if, for example, he were Jewish and held Christianity accountable for persecuting Jews?

- Chill out further: ID is not about being conservative, Republican or Christian, and it's okay if two people who agree with the perspective it offers on current science disagree about a lot of other things, including Sarah Palin.

In my view:

1. The flap blew up before this - and Ben, like many, may well be quietly revising his view:



2. It really has nothing to do with Expelled and will probably soon blow over. Stein thought Palin couldn't handle foreign affairs or the economy. Hmmm. Palin's state sits between Canada and Russia - I wonder how many American states have two foreign neighbours? As for the economy, it's not clear that the US Republicans spend less tax money than the Democrats anyway.

A note on Palin and creationism:

There is much squalling over Palin's presumed creationism, but Edward Sisson reminds me that "Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and John Kerry, Dems all, as well as McCain, back in 2001, all voted for the Santorum Amendment, which is a stronger "teach the controversy" position than Palin's comment at a debate" which is the basis for the anguished squalls. He discusses that here. (Obama was not then a senator, so he did not vote.)

Here's a pretty comprehensive look at Palin's actual views from Parablemania, as well as a clear and well-worded explanation of why Wikipedia is usually a worthless source on these issues and should not be consulted by anyone looking for information, as opposed to propaganda.

British columnist Melanie Phillips gets it right:

Palin is a Christian, which means she believes that the world had a Creator She shares that belief with other Christians along with Jews and Muslims the world over. Unless one takes the view that all religious belief is certifiable, there is nothing remotely odd about a person of faith believing in God. Indeed, one might say this is a prerequisite (unless one happens to belong to the Church of England).

Melanie, not to worry, I hear God survived a recent Church of England vote - with a razor-thin majority to be sure ...

Why there is an intelligent design controversy:

So is Sarah Palin, McCain's US Republican veep choice, a creationist?

Here's the gen I am hearing:

Shock waves:

Among other things, she has backed the teaching of “intelligent design” as an alternative to evolution. “I am a proponent of teaching both [evolution and intelligent design," Palin said in a debate during her run for the governor’s office. "And, you know, I say this, too, as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution."

Rats! The hassle for me is that I was going to write a formal essay rehabbing the term "creationist" but didn't want to link it to the US election. But I don't care. If I get time, I will write the short essay anyway ...

Many of my Canadian colleagues love her to pieces already. One of them said simply "God loves America."

Another said,

I've heard both American and Canadian commentators pan Mrs. Palin as too Conservative, too much of a 'mum' , and too 'young'. These are same pundits who are made comments about Mrs. Clinton being too old, too unfeminine and too radical. As a Canadian, it is not my place to make comments about who Americans elect to office. (Nor is the business of most of those pundits I heard on the CBC and the CTV.) But what gives? Having a woman with her background in politics seems like a breakthrough to me.

Another friend notes,

... the liberal bloggers are indeed going nuts over Palin. Just do a Google News search for "creationism" (August 31, 2008) and then sort it by date. The hits coming back on the issue of Palin are quite numerous and their making a big deal about it ...

Here's the view from Answers in Genesis, the young earth creationists. They are not sure where she stands with respect to their quarrel with NASA o nteh age of the Earth, but they say,

, it should be noted that there is no such position as a “neutral” or “non-religious” stance in this debate. Public school biology textbooks and many teachers explain the origin of the universe and life through “natural” processes, defining science as explaining things by “natural” processes. They are indoctrinating students in an atheistic religious belief—that no god is or has been involved; thus, naturalism—in essence, atheism—is now the religion taught in public schools. Parents need to wake up to the fact that public education is not non-religious. Even the Bible affirms that one is either for Christ or against—clearly teaching that there is no such “neutral” position.

Another friend notes,

What we should keep in mind is that she is reported to be wildly popular in Alaska—and they have known her stance on teaching both sides since before she was elected, (her stance is a little more nuanced than the libs are afraid of). In spite of her stance (or perhaps in part because of it?), she’s reported to have an 80% approval rating in Alaska.

Here's what I wrote recently to a friend:

... what I find remarkable is the cluelessness of legacy Canadian media.

They think Palin a big risk.

Huh?

Why is it a big risk to choose as a running mate a woman who showed that she really believes what she fronts to the public, so to speak (I mean Trig*, of course. Who else could I mean?)

It's my experience that most people who are ambivalent about the pro-life message fear that it is, er, fronted by men who don't know what pregnancy means.

Now, people have a chance to say whether they accept the message from someone who has been there five times and - last time - under the most difficult circumstances.

The American election outcome will help us determine a lot of things, including the people's convictions about the nature of life itself.

*[her son, who copes with Down syndrome, whom she did not abort]

As it happens, I dedicated By Design or by Chance? to my childhood friend Johnny, who had Down syndrome.

Find out why there is an intelligent design controversy here: