Carefully Choose Your Congressmen

Paul Broun, a House of Representatives member from Georgia, has recently come under fire for his comments on religion and science during a speech given in Liberty Baptist Church in late September. His most memorable remarks include his comments on his belief that  "evolution, embryology, the Big Bang theory, [are] lies straight from the pit of hell,” and that the Bible "the manufacturer’s handbook. … It teaches us how to run all of public policy and everything in our society.” Critics of these statements include scientist and former television show host Bill Nye, who expressed disdain that the congressman and former doctor's beliefs do not keep him from office, as he evidently strongly diagrees with them. These two personalities represent two opposite ends of the Biblical creationism and evolution spectrum, with the majority of Americans being somewhere in the middle of the two standpoints.

Broun's viewpoint is a valid one, but it is one I strongly don't agree with. Therefore, the fact that he is in office acting upon his views is slightly disconcerting. However, perhaps more concerning is the fact that, as far as I am aware, the majority of Americans do not agree with him either. There may be extenuating circumstances, such as possibly the strong religious sentiment of the district by which Broun has been elected, but the amount of criticism  Broun has received seems to display a disparity in the views of the representative and his constituency. If true, this can be traced to a lack of political involvement at the local level. While over 50 percent of the population eligible to vote have exercised this right in recent presidential election years, significantly less than that reports voting in congressional elections. What many don't realize is that our Senators and Representatives are our most direct access to the arbitrary-seeming dreamland of Washington D.C. where the legislation that directly affects our lives is drafted. Paul Broun is in this elegant but distant place, using only the Bible to guide his decisions that can change my life as an American, and until this day, I had never heard of him.

Sources:
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/elections/voting-age_population_and_voter_participation.html

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/10/congressman-draws-fire-for-calling-evolution-big-bang-lies-from-the-pit-of-hell/