dinosaurs? Whatever the actual number of American Creationists may be, it’s diminishing. More pertinent are recent statistics showing the rapid decrease in religious affiliation. Over the last decade, religious ‘nones’ have leapt from 17 percent to a full 26 percent of the US population. As churches fail to attract Millennials, about 35 percent are sleeping in on Sundays. As in Europe, the hard core of American atheists is also growing. These non-believers, most of whom are male, tend to become aggro Bernie Bros or buy their meaning with filthy lucre. A demystified cosmos especially appeals to teenagers, 13 percent of whom identify as atheist – twice that of the total US population.
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his spiritual warfare inevitably spills out into the streets. One striking segment of “We Believe in Dinosaurs” shows atheist protesters facing off with Creationist counter-protesters at the Ark Encounter’s opening. Cameras caught the Creationist organiser Eric Hovind lying to cops about asking counter-protesters to attend. We then see aggressive atheists line up to poke fingers at Hovind’s nose and spit tired talking points. As the past halfdecade has shown, screaming blowhards are the new face of American discourse. Somewhere between these ideological armies are those who can marvel at the elaborate material world revealed by science, yet hold fast to spiritual realities. But we all know ‘both/and’ makes for boring television. Ken Ham’s
‘either/or’ excites our bloodlust. Immediately after the sensational premier, PBS segued into BBC News Hour. The opening story was shot inside China’s internment camps, where over a million Muslim Uyghurs are currently receiving re-education. The ethnic minority’s archaic, unscientific beliefs are being replaced by ideas more amenable to the Communist Party’s materialist worldview. According to Uyghur exiles, Chinese authorities offer two alternatives: enlightenment or death. This is a grim juxtaposition to the socially isolated Creationists
and their culturally dominant opponents. As faith wanes among the young, radical socialism and the vitalist alt-right provide tangible substitutes. It’s a reminder that, as with other nations, American religion could go the way of the dinosaurs – first due to sickness, then ultimately finished off by a fast approaching asteroid. CT Joe Allen writes about race, robots, and religion. His work has appeared in The Federalist, Taki’s Magazine, Disinformation, and Salvo Magazine.
n alan MacLeod
Cop-hating vandals or pro-democracy activists?
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he New York Police
Department (NYPD) can generally rely on corporate media as allies on controversial police issues. A case in point was the New York subway protests last month, in which the activist group Decolonize This Place organised hundreds of people to occupy New York City subway stations to demand free transit for all and an end to racialised over-policing on the subway system. There was one injury reported. The prospect of an event overtly critical of police tactics had Fox News (1/31/20) scandalised. “Antifa Plans
Massive Anti-Cop Action in NY Subways”, its headline read. Quoting the Police Benevolent Association, it claimed that the ‘anti-police movement’ is aiming for the “destruction of public order.” Like Fox, Britain’s Daily Mail (2/1/20) appeared particularly appalled that demonstrators were covering their faces: “Masked Anti-Cop Protesters Storm Grand Central During Rush Hour and Vandalise Subway Stations Across New York,” ran its headline. Local news like ABC7 New York (2/5/20) claimed that the masked ‘vandals’ were part of a ‘criminal effort’ that had ColdType | March 2020 | www.coldtype.net
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