Allegedly, Democrats represent the party of science whereas Republicans are the party of fairytales, a distinction primarily based on two litmus test issues; global warming and evolution. If you believe in these things, so the story goes, you must be a Democrat. Well there's no denying that Democrats do take global warming seriously, Daily Kos is full of material related to this subject, but so far as evolution is concerned I would say most Democrats have never given it a thought in their lives. Sure they support its inclusion in school curricula but beyond this modest lip service they pay it no mind whatsoever. They imagine that it is irrelevant to politics. Evolution, like Einstein's theory of relativity, is viewed as an esoteric abstraction with no practical implications for everyday life.
I, however, take evolution seriously, because I believe that its implications are profound. I believe it explains the behavior which has led to global warming (along with many other unpleasant things) and that only by accounting for this behavior in our systems of Government may we realistically hope to combat these ills. As I see it, an appreciation of evolution may actually inform our progressive political strategies. Over the years I have posted occasional essays at DKos which all gravitated towards this same point; that human behavior is a product of evolution and republican government (which is thousands of years old) must be included in this statement. The specific conclusion which I have drawn from this general observation of fact is that politics, as we know it, is an evolutionary dead end; a form of social suicide.
Now I do understand that these lengthy essays fall far outside of the normal Daily Kos fare and that my conclusions are unusual to say the least; but still I imagined I would find at least one or two readers with the attention and curiosity to read them. I thought even if few agreed with me that I might at least generate some controversy and initiate an ongoing debate about the role of evolution in politics. Instead though, the reaction has largely been one of bemused indifference or outright derision. Recently, because I am in fact saying the same thing repeatedly, I have had my diaries labelled as spam. That is the last straw.
I will no longer violate the ideological purity of the Daily Kos website by posting novel ideas which go against the mainstream groupthink but I will exit this site with one final parting question;
Is evolution actually irrelevant or does it not possibly have some real implications for our understanding and practice of politics?
I am very curious to hear what the representatives of the party of science have to say about this question.