Creationism is spreading in this country. From the classrooms of Dover, Pennsylvania to the whole school system of Kansas, and now it has evolved (!) into something that affects the arts industry:
An exhibition celebrating the life of Charles Darwin, which is slated for the National Museum of Australia later this decade, has failed to find a corporate sponsor in the United States because American companies are anxious not to take sides in the heated debate between scientists and fundamentalist Christians over the theory of evolution.
The entire $US3 million ($1.7 million) cost of Darwin, which opened at the American Museum of Natural History in New York at the weekend, is instead being borne by wealthy individuals and private donations.
The failure of American companies to back the exhibition reflects the growing influence of fundamentalist Christians, who are among President George Bush's most vocal supporters, in all walks of life in the US.
While the Darwin exhibition, which features a live Galapagos tortoise, has been unable to find a business backer, the Creationist Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio, which takes literally the Bible's account of creation, has recently raised $7 million in donations.
Isn't that hilarious? I wonder what good old Charles would have thought about it.
I never realized that business people are such cowards. Aren't they supposed to be the brave creative force of our capitalist economy?