2 reasons why it's a bad week to be an atheist

On a trade mission to London, Walker was asked at an event whether he believed in evolution. He didn't answer. Published Feb. 17, 2015 at 3:05 p.m.

So what's making atheism tough this week? Two things.

One is Scott Walker. And I don't just say that on principle, though I can see why you might think that given my history in this space.

On a trade mission to London, Walker was asked at an event whether he believed in evolution. He didn't answer.

Local yokel Christian Schneider, a professional Walker apologist given free rein to write at the state's largest daily newspaper, tweeted out that "Walker didn't answer the evolution [question] because he was afraid his answer would be twisted."

Huh? It's a yes or no question. I am not sure how a simple yes or no could be "twisted." Twisting happens when politicians evade simple yes or no questions. Not that answering yes or no is always the end of the story think "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" but a coy decision to "punt," in Walker's own word, on the question just simply invites the pile-on.

In fact, Schneider went on in that tweet: "And coverage of his non-answer proves him right." As if we should be surprised a bunch of people wrangling with the fact that a supposedly battle-tested leader like Walker can't muster a single syllable, affirmative or negative, on a basic question like that. Had Walker offered an actual answer, we might not be talking about this still a week later. This is Politics 101 and not even what sets my atheist bones a-rattling.

No, here's what atheists like me hate about this kind of thing: evolution is not something you "believe" in. It's real; whether you believe in it or not, evolution is a simple fact of reality. People of faith sometimes have to figure out how they reconcile that reality with the things that are actual beliefs, sure, but they don't get to substitute that faith for reality.

The question shouldn't even be asked. I mean, would the moderator have asked about anything else that is settled science? "Pardon me, Gov. Walker, but have you heard this thing about the earth revolving around the sun? What do you make of that?"

Asking the question offers legitimacy to the anti-science, anti-reality position, and that's no good for anybody.

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2 reasons why it's a bad week to be an atheist