Gov. Bobby Jindal and Creationism
The most embarrassing controversy is his support for teaching creationism in Louisiana’s public school science classes. It gives the rest of the country a reason to laugh at us, and surely Louisiana has had enough of that kind of derision.
After some prodding on Kotb’s part, Jindal finally came right out and said he has “no problem” with teaching creationism, and its cousin Intelligent Design, in science classes. Though eloquent on other subjects, his reasoning on this subject was so lame that he negated all Louisiana’s advances into the 21st century in a few minutes.
“I believe all of our students should be exposed to the best science,” he answered the first time Kotb asked him if he supports teaching creationism. That answer was the typical evasion tactic that politicians use when put on the spot - giving no answer at all.
Then Jindal floundered around, talking about teaching creationism in non-public schools for a while. He was visibly searching for an answer that would throw a bone to both sides of the controversy. He seemed to know he was in trouble, why he was in trouble and couldn’t decide how to get out of it gracefully.
When he didn’t answer the question directly, Kotb pressed him, and that’s when he finally admitted that he supports teaching creationism along with “the best science,” apparently his term for the dreaded “E” word, evolution. Even though the fossil record of earth and humankind’s development over time confirms gradual changes over thousands of years, there are people out there who refuse to believe it.
Many of Jindal’s conservative base voters are religious literalists, and maybe he is himself, even though he’s a Rhodes Scholar and surely been exposed to the “best science” himself. These religious conservatives have long fought to bring the seven-day creation and Adam and Eve stories to public schools. Moreover, their actions have made it clear they only vote for Republicans who support what they want.
More: Gov. Bobby Jindal and Creationism - New Orleans Magazine - June 2013 - New Orleans, LA
