How Old is the Grand Canyon?

Is the answer to such a question mind-dependent or mind-independent? In other words, does your particular point of view determine the truth of the answer, or is the answer somehow objectively true, regardless of what you think or feel?

Well, as it turns out, surprise surprise, creationists are at it again, not only claiming that the earth is roughly six thousand years old, that god created the universe with the light from the stars already shining our way so we could see them, that god created dinosaur bones to test our faith, and that the Grand Canyon is the result of erosion from the flood where Noah and his family were the only ones spared, but these creationist assholes are actually exerting strong political pressure on the National Park Service (NPS) so that the accepted account of the age of the Grand Canyon coheres with the biblical account and not with accepted scientific accounts.

“In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service is under orders to suspend its belief in geology,” stated Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “It is disconcerting that the official position of a national park as to the geologic age of the Grand Canyon is ‘no comment.’”

The park's bookstore actually sells a book claiming that the earth, and consequently the Grand Canyon, is only as old as the bible says. This book has not been taken off the shelves because it's supposed to undergo some high level review, but no such review has yet taken place for at least the last three years, since it's never even been requested!

So, the park does not want to offend religious bigots, but it feels perfectly fine offending everyone else? Yeah, that sounds very liberal... How open minded that they want to remain open to all available possibilities...

This is exactly the same concealed argument intelligent design theorists make: "ok, so evolution shows that we're totally wrong, and there's no possible scientific research we could perform based on the idea of an intelligent designer (other than falsify the whole account!), so let's change the definition of science to include any form of inquiry (including the supernatural and paranormal), and make ourselves sound liberal and enlightened by pretending we're simply more open-minded than scientists, since we are willing to listen to alternative explanations for the origin of life, and blah blah blah."

Well, based on this 'enlightened' idea of liberal principles and open-mindedness, we should teach astronomy, as well as astrology, numerology and tea-leaf reading; phrenology as well as neurology; chemistry as well as alchemy; magic as well as relativity; medicine as well as homeopathy (never mind all the people that die as a result... that's nowhere as important as being total hypocrites); evolution as well as creationism; etc.

No, let's take it further: you want to teach that some supernatural conscious being created the universe? You want to stay open-minded to the possibility? Then let's go ahead and teach that, but let's also teach how a completely evil, arrogant, self-righteous, petty, jealous, murderous and chauvinist god could equally account for our experience of the world.

Some concentrate on the beauty of flowers and the so-called perfection of the eye (ironically, many of those who argue for this view fucking wear glasses!!!), or on the beauty of sunsets, blah blah blah...

Well, let's also concentrate on the fact that earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, avalanches, diseases and all kinds of natural disasters would also be the result and creation of this petty 'omnipotent' being who feels insecure every time we don't worship him and throws a hissy-fit and condemns some city, Sodom comes to mind, to complete and utter destruction simply because they would not believe. How open-minded...

"Oh, but they had free will," some might reply. Sure, "believe in me or be condemned to an eternity of torture in the fiery pits of hell, it's TOTALLY your choice..." Right...

So, creationists, you want to stick to your guns and stay 'open-minded' to alternative possibilities other than the canonical? Then acknowledge the possibility that god is an asshole, assholes!