Moral Excuses for Doing the Wrong Thing A story published today (8/25/06) at Keynoter.com and in the news nationwide, shines a bright spotlight, at least in my mind, on the sad state of a society (any society) that is controlled by religion rather than logic and common sense. Here is a bit of the article:

"A California biotech company has developed a way to generate human embryonic stem cell colonies without intentionally destroying embryos in the process. Lead researcher Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology declared Wednesday that "this removes the last rational reason for opposing" research aimed at using the cells to understand and treat diseases. Lanza's optimism was not widely shared. His team earned praise for trying to address ethical concerns and for technical prowess. But opponents of embryonic stem cell research said the new approach still poses moral dilemmas." (emphasis mine)

The "moral dilemmas" are, of course, the inventions of religious conservatives. Logically speaking, there is not a reason left to oppose this research but yet these religious conservatives are trying to convince the world that their opposition (based on faith, not reason) is the morally correct response. Forget the fact that no embryo will be harmed or that this research may someday produce treatments for diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimer's -- focus instead on the 'moral dilemma' that has religious conservatives quivering in their pews. As Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute says: "It is a mistake to try to appease religious conservatives on this issue. What they are opposed to, fundamentally, is science . . .". I started this post with the suggestion that this country is being "controlled" by a religion and while controlled may be too strong a word TODAY . . . it may be just the right word tomorrow.