Let's get serious
让我们严肃一些
When 86 Americans are killed with guns every single day
每天都有86位美国人死于枪杀
and shootings regularly occur at our schools and universities
枪击事件也经常发生在校园中
including last week's tragedy at Santa Barbara
包括上周发生在圣巴巴拉的悲剧
it would be almost medical malpractice to say anything else
但除此之外 再说什么估计都会被认为是医疗失当
But in politics as it is on far too many college campuses
在政治上 也同很多大学校园中发生的一样
people don't listen to facts that run counter to their ideology
人们不愿意听到同自己意识形态想抵触的事实
They fear them
他们害怕它们
And nothing is more frightening to them than scientific evidence
而且没有什么比科学证据更让他们害怕的了
Earlier this year
今年早些时候
the State of South Carolina adopted new science standards for its public schools
南卡罗来纳州对公立学校采用了新标准
but the state legislature blocked any mention of natural selection
州议会竟然禁止人们提到自然选择
That's like teaching economics without mentioning supply and demand
这就像是教经济学 却不讲供需
Once again, you have to ask: What are they afraid of?
还是需要问那个问题 他们害怕什么
The answer, of course, is obvious
答案很显然
Just as members of Congress fear data that undermines their ideological beliefs
同国会议员害怕数据破坏他们的意识形态一样
these state legislators fear scientific evidence
这些州议会议员害怕科学证据
that undermines their religious beliefs
破坏他们的宗教信念
And if you want proof of that, consider this
想要证据的人可以考虑这个
An 8-year-old girl in South Carolina
南卡罗来纳的一位八岁女孩
wrote to members of the state legislature
给州议会议员们写了一封信
urging them to make the woolly mammoth the official state fossil
请他们将猛犸象定为官方州化石
The legislators thought it was a great idea
州议员们认为这个主意很好
because a woolly mammoth fossil was found in the state way back in 1725
因为猛犸象化石早在1725年就发现于州里
But the state senate passed a bill defining the woolly mammoth as having been
然后州参议院通过的法案中却将猛犸象定义为
"created on the 6th day with the beasts of the field"
"创造于陆生动物创生的第六天"
You can't make this stuff up
这些东西不能胡编乱造
Here in 21st century America
在二十一世纪的美国
the wall between church and state remains under attack
教会和国家之间的壁垒仍在受到攻击
and it's up to all of us to man the barricades
这就需要我们来维持两者的分离
Unfortunately
很不幸的是
Unfortunately
很不幸的是
the same elected officials who put ideology and religion over data and science
将意识形态和宗教观念强加到枪支和进化论的
when it comes to guns and evolution are
这些民选官员大多也正是
often the most unwilling to accept the scientific data on climate change
不愿承认气候变化科学证据的那些人
