Next time you encounter a creationist, tell him or her about retroviruses (HIV is the best known example). Retroviruses are called that because they work backwards, turning their RNA into DNA. They can wire their own DNA directly into the DNA that’s in a cell nucleus. When they do this to a sperm cell or an egg cell, all the descendents wind up with viral DNA in every cell of their body, and it looks very different from mammal DNA. It gets inserted at a random place (there’s lots of room because we have so much junk DNA), so you can tell the difference between “infected by the same virus” and “descendents of the same infected individual”. Guess what? These viral DNA markers, indicating an infected ancestor, appear in both human and chimpanzee DNA, providing rock-solid proof, in every cell in our bodies, that a common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees was infected, because several markers show up at the exact same position.

That’s rock-solid proof. The only out that the creationists have is to claim that God deliberately created false evidence (and some do just this).

The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.

The author of these words?