State Senator Sylvia Allen thinks planet is six thousand years old

July 10, 3:08 PMPhiladelphia Atheism ExaminerStaks Rosch

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Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen

This story has been circling the internet for days, but I still think it is worth talking about. Arizona State Senator, Sylvia Allen casually stated in a meeting that the Earth is 6000 years old. The part that I find most interesting is that she stated it casually. She wasn’t trying to advance Creationism or make some sort of commentary about fundamentalist Christianity vs. modern science.

No, Republican State Senator Allen seems to actually be oblivious to the controversy between Christian extremists and modern science with relation to the age of the Earth. Instead, she appears to be stating what she considers a well established fact. The really sad part is that she is almost certainly not the only politician who believes that the Earth is six thousand years old. While a State Senator is a pretty important public office, I have little doubt that there are State Senators across the country, US Congress people, and even US Senators who share State Senator Allen’s belief that the Earth is six thousand years old.

This is not necessarily an issue of Church/State Separation, but it is an issue of separating ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of legislators and leaders. Quite honestly, legislators like State Senator Allen are an embarrassment to the nation. Not only that, but the people who voted her and others with similar ignorance into office are an embarrassment to all Americans.

In this particular case, the scientifically illiterate State Senator is trying to circumvent environmental laws which protect citizens from radioactive Uranium. She doesn’t realize that radioactive Uranium is dangerous because of her scientific ignorance. She doesn’t even care about the science of the situation. All she is focused on is money and her religious “Truths.”

I am not just holding State Senator Allen in contempt here. I think we need to send a clear message that no politician should allow their religious beliefs to inform them about science. The American people should also not allow scientific ignorance of this magnitude. We need to better educate our fellow Americans on how science works and what we have learned from science. Stupid people elect stupid leaders.