Richard Dawkins: Creationists Don't Read Books

Jillian Bandes | October 16, 2009 12:37 PM

If Dawkins is what you get out of evolution, sign me up with the creationists. From a recent interview about his new book, "The Greatest Show On Earth."

Salon: You say in the beginning of the book that you would like to convince people that creationism is not a feasible or a viable belief system, but you also make it clear that you're not a big fan of creationists.

Dawkins: That's putting it mildly, yes.

Salon: Doesn't that make it difficult for a creationist to read this book without feeling insulted? Won't that hurt your goal?

Dawkins: No, I'm not really aiming it at creationists. I don't think they read books anyway, except for one book.

Oh, and, Americans who voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin are unintelligent, but those who voted for Barack Obama are smart.

Salon: Do you also think there's a greater degree of anti-intellectualism in America compared to a lot of other countries?

Dawkins: There does seem to be evidence of a divide in the United States between two cultures. It does seem to be a deeper divide, and maybe even a widening one, perhaps we don't see in European countries. There seems to be a divide between what shall we say -- the Sarah Palin voters and the Barack Obama voters.