How the penguin's life story inspired the US religious right

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How the penguin's life story inspired the US religious right

Antarctic family values: Is the emperor penguin an enemy of Darwin? America's surprise film hit was meant to be a nature documentary. Now it's a pawn in the war on evolutionary theory


Conservatives in America claim to have seen God in the emperor penguin. They have rejoiced in the way the film shows penguins as monogamous upholders of traditional family values. They presumably welcomed the screenwriters' decision not to pursue arguments about climate change. They have even pointed to the heroically resourceful penguins - blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gales, yet winning against the odds - as proof of 'intelligent design', the religious belief system that aims to challenge Darwin's theory of evolution.
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Effin pathetic... :rolleyes:
 
One very important point, this film was successful long before the nasties leeched onto it, because it is a wonderful, beautiful film. One of those word-of-mouth promotions.
 
They have even pointed to the heroically resourceful penguins - blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gales, yet winning against the odds - as proof of 'intelligent design' ...
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It's evidence of intelligent behaviour. Who's down there trying to eat you? So it gets cold, so you dress for it. What's the big deal? Tigers live in the warm, and how many of them are there about? And how many have ever eaten penguin?
 
Re: Re: How the penguin's life story inspired the US religious right

Grammatron said:
I know! Guardian is total crap. Glad we agree.
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Andrew Coffin, writing in the Christian publication World Magazine, said such miracles of nature were evidence that life is too complex to have arisen through Darwinian random selection: 'That any one of these eggs survives is a remarkable feat - and, some might suppose, a strong case for intelligent design. It's sad that acknowledgment of a creator is absent in the examination of such strange and wonderful animals. But it's also a gap easily filled by family discussion after the film.'
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Did Andrew Coffin not write that? Is this the smoking gun that demonstrates the guardian's duplicity?
A contributor to the Christian Science Monitor wrote: 'The penguins' way of life has illustrated to me some aspects of how God is parenting us.' On WorldNetDaily.com, a conservative website, an opponent of abortion wrote that the film 'verified the beauty of life and the rightness of protecting it'. Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, told a conference of young Republicans: 'Penguins are the really ideal example of monogamy. The dedication of these birds is amazing.'
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Another invention?

Perhaps your difficulty is with
But the film's makers say they are strong believers in evolution, and its American distributors, Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Feature Films, insist that it is simply a tale about penguins. Laura Kim, a vice-president of Warner Independent, said: 'You know what? They're just birds.'
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which is from the same piece, and yet gives the other side of the story. I appreciate how that could disturb some people.
 
Re: Re: Re: How the penguin's life story inspired the US religious right

CapelDodger said:
Did Andrew Coffin not write that? Is this the smoking gun that demonstrates the guardian's duplicity? Another invention?

Perhaps your difficulty is with which is from the same piece, and yet gives the other side of the story. I appreciate how that could disturb some people.
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Conservatives in America claim to have seen God in the emperor penguin.
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Since when are all conservatives in America religious? This is bad writing any way you slice it.

Also, religious people see religion in every day life. Well, stop the goddamn presses!
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: How the penguin's life story inspired the US religious right

Grammatron said:
Since when are all conservatives in America religious? This is bad writing any way you slice it.
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Since when did "conservatives" mean "all conservatives"? Are the people that were quoted not conservative? Would they not describe themselves as such?

Do you think that the readership of the guardian would interpret "conservative" as meaning "all conservatives"? You surely know what guardian readers are like.

Also, religious people see religion in every day life. Well, stop the goddamn presses!
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Your problem is, then, that the guardian shouldn't have printed the story in The Observer because it's a yawn. But in this country it isn't a yawn, it's another demonstration of how different your country is from ours.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: How the penguin's life story inspired the US religious right

CapelDodger said:
Since when did "conservatives" mean "all conservatives"? Are the people that were quoted not conservative? Would they not describe themselves as such?
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They did not describe themselves as such so I do not know. I do know that Guardian makes it soudn like Conservatives are doing this.
Do you think that the readership of the guardian would interpret "conservative" as meaning "all conservatives"? You surely know what guardian readers are like.
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You right, as I don't read that crap I don't know who does. But that quotes is poorly written as evident in its ambiguety.
Your problem is, then, that the guardian shouldn't have printed the story in The Observer because it's a yawn. But in this country it isn't a yawn, it's another demonstration of how different your country is from ours. [/B]
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Are there NO people in UK who are religious and feel that way? I find that hard to believe.
 
It was a good movie in a year fairly devoid of good movies. I think the religious slant to the story is way overblown.

It is, if anything, a smörgåsbord of arguments for natural selection and evolution.
 
Grammatron, I'm pretty sure you don't like the Guardian because they're usually left wing, not because they "write badly". The Guardian is as bad (or as good) as any other newspaper. The faults typical of newspaper journalism generally become more obvious when the newspaper doesn't tell us what we wanna hear.

Personally, I think that "neutral reporting" is a load of bosh. I'd rather know which the newspaper is on, and then read a variety of different sources, without considering each individual source "the truth".
 
The dangers of taking examples from nature for one's political and social philosophy is that nature tends to be all over the place. Does anyone else remember the fuss over the gay penguins in that zoo a couple of years ago?

And for the people who think the penguin movie somehow affirms a deity's preference for heterosexual monogamy, how do they explain the mating habits of bees, which involve multiple murder? Or lions' tendency to kill off the cubs of a previous pack leader to bring the females into heat? Or that wasp that lays its eggs inside a caterpillar?

I guess you CAN find the hand of God in nature, and it proves your social ideas.....if you select your data.
 
TragicMonkey said:
The dangers of taking examples from nature for one's political and social philosophy is that nature tends to be all over the place. Does anyone else remember the fuss over the gay penguins in that zoo a couple of years ago?

And for the people who think the penguin movie somehow affirms a deity's preference for heterosexual monogamy, how do they explain the mating habits of bees, which involve multiple murder? Or lions' tendency to kill off the cubs of a previous pack leader to bring the females into heat? Or that wasp that lays its eggs inside a caterpillar?

I guess you CAN find the hand of God in nature, and it proves your social ideas.....if you select your data.
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Fundys never let the truth interfere with a good story. They're a bit like journalists (and politicians) in that respect...
 
TragicMonkey said:
The dangers of taking examples from nature for one's political and social philosophy is that nature tends to be all over the place. Does anyone else remember the fuss over the gay penguins in that zoo a couple of years ago?

And for the people who think the penguin movie somehow affirms a deity's preference for heterosexual monogamy, how do they explain the mating habits of bees, which involve multiple murder? Or lions' tendency to kill off the cubs of a previous pack leader to bring the females into heat? Or that wasp that lays its eggs inside a caterpillar?

I guess you CAN find the hand of God in nature, and it proves your social ideas.....if you select your data.
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I had the same thought. What about the Booby? If there are two chicks one kills the other. Either god goofed or perhaps it is silly to look the animal kingdom to prove ID

And many animals are NOT monogomus. In fact many birds are not.

The Myth of Monogamy : Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People

Shattering deeply held beliefs about sexual relationships in humans and other animals, The Myth of Monogamy is a much needed treatment of a sensitive issue. Written by the husband and wife team of behavioral scientist David P. Barash and psychiatrist Judith Eve Lipton, it glows with wit and warmth even as it explores decades of research undermining traditional precepts of mating rituals. Evidence from genetic testing has been devastating to those seeking monogamy in the animal kingdom; even many birds, long prized as examples of fidelity, turn out to have a high incidence of extra-pair couplings. Furthermore, now that researchers have turned their attention to female sexual behavior, they are finding more and more examples of aggressive adultery-seeking in "the fairer sex." Writing about humans in the context of parental involvement, the authors find complexity and humor:
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TragicMonkey said:
The dangers of taking examples from nature for one's political and social philosophy is that nature tends to be all over the place. ... I guess you CAN find the hand of God in nature, and it proves your social ideas.....if you select your data.
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Quite. The dangers are rather less for the religious polemicist, since they can depend to some extent on being the only source of data to their target market. In their perfect society the bearers of other data can be burned/stoned/crucified, whatever, let's not get into cultural judgements. Trampling by wild horses is just as valid.

In our society, we can safely point out that penguins are serial monogamists, but not everybody gets to hear.
 
RandFan said:
IAnd many animals are NOT monogomus. In fact many birds are not.
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The kind of birds I like to meet. :) Oh dear, I'm just showing my age ...

This monogamy thing is transparent BS. When men get high status they expect more tail, and by getting more tail they reinforce their status. Harems, concubines, trophy brides, the King's Mistresses. Monogamy has only ever been for the poor and unmighty. How many wives did David and Solomon have between them?
 
CapelDodger said:
The kind of birds I like to meet. :) Oh dear, I'm just showing my age ...

This monogamy thing is transparent BS. When men get high status they expect more tail, and by getting more tail they reinforce their status. Harems, concubines, trophy brides, the King's Mistresses. Monogamy has only ever been for the poor and unmighty. How many wives did David and Solomon have between them?
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I think there are many human behaviors that show a similarity to other animal behaviors. "Other animal" meaning that we are also animals. One of the behaviors that I see in common with other animals, especially other mammals and other primates, is the drive that mend tend to have to seek out many sex partners. I know I can't plead innocent to that.
 
Dylab said:
Carl Zimmer in his blog gave a few examples of other animals that reaffirm our traditional values. My favorite being the pansexual Bonobos.
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You gotta love the bonobos. Humans are far more like chimps than they are like bonobos, but they have some bonobo-like features, which I suspect is a result of parallel evolution. Being able to live harmoniously in large groups, for instance. Perhaps some of the successor species of HomSap will be even more bonobo-like. I like to think so (so I do).
 
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