an open letter to the national trust
TRANSCRIPT
8 July 2012The National TrustPO Box 39Warrington, WA5 7WD, UK
By e-mail: [email protected] cc [email protected]
An open letter to the National Trust
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write with regards your recent submission to the vocal religious minority with the inclusion of creationist propaganda in the new Giant's Causeway National Trust visitors center. I consider this to be breathtakingly poor judgement, especially for such an important and (hitherto) trustworthy organisation who carries such critical roles and responsibilities in delivering unbiased education. Clearly I am not alone in my disappointment, as evidenced by the strongly worded, persistent and overwhelmingly negative feedback you continue to receive by way of correspondence, social media and the press.
By giving “Young Earth Creationism” a platform you undermine the overwhelming majority of respectable scientists who are working tirelessly to tackle the real issues, most notably finding a sustainable balance between human development and our environment. In that sense deference to unfounded religious superstition is not merely benign (as is the case for other myths such as belief in Santa Claus or the tooth fairy) but carries positively harmful consequences that are considered by many to be a threat to human survival.
I implore you to urgently reconsider your inclusion of this unscientific nonsense (justified only by a single work of fiction written by our unsophisticated ancestors in another age), disavow claims by the Caleb Foundation that it serves as “an acknowledgement both of the legitimacy of the creationist position on the origins of the unique Causeway stones and of the ongoing debate around this” and conduct an ethical review of the “senior National Trust officials who have worked closely with [the Caleb Foundation] over a prolonged period”. There is no “ongoing debate” amongst respectable scientists and the claim that there is serves only as a distraction from the real issues.
I look forward to your prompt, public and unambiguous response to this issue,
Kind regards,
Sam Johnston
Sam Johnston