Seems the folks at the American Anthropological Association not only disagree with President Bush’s call for a Constitutional amendment to define marriage as purely a heterosexual institution, but they’re pretty critical of his ignorance of what anthropology has to say on the issue. Specifically they’re saying he’s talking out of his ass when he claims that the institution of marriage as heterosexual-only is fundamental to civilization.
Scientists counter Bush view / Families varied, say anthropologists
“The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution,” said the executive board of the 11,000-member American Anthropological Association.
Bush has cast the union between male and female as the only proper form of marriage, or what he called in his State of the Union address “one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization.”
American anthropologists say he’s wrong.
“Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies,” the association’s statement said, adding that the executive board “strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.”
Bush has already demonstrated that not only is he ignorant of science, but is willing to manipulate scientific data as well as stack the deck on scientific panels with people who support his political viewpoint so this probably shouldn’t come as any big surprise. It doesn’t help that the level of science literacy in this country is pretty piss-poor these days leaving your average American as ignorant to the truth as President Bush is and that definitely works in Bush’s favor on these hot topic issues. When people don’t know even the basics about science, let alone history, it leaves the powers to be to make shit up as they go along as long as it sounds good to the majority of voters.
Posted on 03/02/2004 at 10:45 AM 
Posted on 03/02/2004 at 01:12 PM 
Posted on 03/02/2004 at 05:52 PM 
Posted on 03/02/2004 at 11:30 PM 
you gotta admit though....it’s at least a little bit better than the 50’s to the 80’s when the christian scientists were trying to ban, and did in some states, evolution in the classroom