I’ve always associated my maternal grandfather with David Attenborough. Not because they look alike or even have anything in common, but because from the age of about six until I was fifteen or so, my “pap” and I spent every Saturday morning parked in front of the TV watching nature programming together on PBS.
Attenborough’s documentaries were always the best. It would definitely take a lot of “faith” to first imagine a loving and benevolent god and then to think that god has hatred for someone like Attenborough – bunch of whackaloons!
A few Attenborough quotes from the Guardian:
"They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance."
"It never really occurred to me to believe in God - and I had nothing to rebel against, my parents told me nothing whatsoever. But I do remember looking at my headmaster delivering a sermon, a classicist, extremely clever ... and thinking, he can't really believe all that, can he? How incredible!"
"They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator."
Similiar statements during television interview (YouTube)
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."
-Blaise Paschal
This quote is often attributed, in error, to Sam J. Ervin, Jr. in "Protecting the Constitution." (1984).
I hadn't seen that interview... thanks for posting it!
ReplyDeleteNo problem -anytime.
ReplyDeleteThat might slightly give the wrong impression about our attitude to Sir David here in England - he's regarded pretty much as a saint over here, strictly non-religious, of course. Pretty much everything he broadcasts is superb, and there's so much of it. This weekend he'll do a documentary of Darwin "Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life" available on bbc iplayer from 1st Feb. Info here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/darwin/
ReplyDeleteI'd also reccomend "What Darwin didn't know" especially if you like evo/devo.
The BBC has provided a great season of programmes.
And this coming Monday I'm going to see his house in Kent! Can't wait.
Although I was born in Liverpool, and went to college in Kent – I’ve never been to England. (Liverpool and Kent are also cities in Ohio, USA). Seeing his house would be a treat; I’m certain you’ll enjoy the trip.
ReplyDeleteI’m a big fan of the BBC, their documentaries are great. They seem to do a good job with news broadcasting as well. We have a “BBC US” television channel here that I watch pretty regularly. The channel has plenty of documentaries about health, political and social issues but I’ve yet to catch any programs focused on nature or the natural sciences on the station. For those shows, I go to the web. As a side note – one of the programs I most enjoy on the BBC US station is called “The Dragon’s Den” and shows average citizens pitching inventions and business ideas to venture capitalists.
I’m a little slow sometimes, are you saying that it gives the wrong impression because he receives the letters, or for another reason?
It's only that the number of people who cristicize him in any way is tiny - luckily the religious wackaloons in this country hold no sway at all. I'd be really interested to know what a scientist thinks of Armand Leroi's documentary - seems to me it me be scientfically controversial. As we know, biologists are a disputatious bunch, and I suspect that if it weren't for creationists attacking the whole idea of evolution, they'd be at each other all the time over the exact nature of Darwin's legacy, the role of natural selection etc but they need to provide a united front lest any argument be seen as an attack on the very idea of evolution (see the arguments over the current "New Statesman" cover).
ReplyDeleteI can think of loads of reasond why not to be proud of Atty or to like like him
ReplyDeleteHe's no environmentalist for starters- he's constrantly pointed the camera at pretty animals and nearly totally avoided looking at envronmental destruction just around the corner- Virunga is a classic example. All the while he's enriched himself beyond most peoples dreams to the tune of £££millions, via the elitist BBC. This posh boy only got the job because he's posh. (just like Fry et al). He's also a racist by blaming the worlds problems on their being "too many people", meaning toom many poor people, ie non whites mainly, whilst he jaunts all over the world by lane and leads a luxurious western lifestyle. I could go on. The co. he works for mainly (BBC) have hardly ever shown ANY programmes on true environmentalism and destruction of habitats etc. ^The 6th extinction? Climate change? Atty's been a willing shill in ignoring these amazingly important things, while Greepeace, FotE etc are ignored.
Sorry for the above typo's- no glasses on, i'm afraid!!
ReplyDeleteAnother very important and disturbing reason not to like Aty, is becasause he portrays nature as a "Competition". It's this fiction which philosophers have usd to say that as nature is a competition then so must we live in competition ie Capitalism. The most destructive force upon the environment is Capitalism which Atty promotes. What a dunce. Nature is mainly a symbiosis, yet Atty hasn't ever stopped to think upon this as he blindly doesn't question the elite narrative(s)
ReplyDelete