USA Today recently ran an article focusing on the dampening influence of Christianity in Europe. Secularization has been a major force in Europe, but the article took a nasty turn toward idiocy when it connected this secularization to population.

In Europe, and every other fully industrialized region on earth, child births have decreased. Europe is experiencing the difficulties once a population becomes lopsided with the elderly, such as a reduction in workers.

This is simply an effect of industrialization because there is no longer an immediate need for children in families (because they are not farmers anymore). However, Gannon feels these problems arise from Europeans losing their religion.

First, I laughed, and then I cried because people are actually going to buy this crap. Talk show radio hosts will rant about the heathen French who have now become barren and sterile because they don’t go to church.

He failed to mention that the French lost two generations in two world wars and that the rest of Western Europe had been affected in similar ways. But hey, those are just details.

He went on to argue if the U.S. kept removing Christianity from schools, courthouses, and its general culture, they would soon be facing the same problem. Guess what? The U.S. is facing this problem and they will face this problem no matter how many courthouses have the Ten Commandments plastered in visible places. The U.S. just doesn’t have the workers to replace the baby boomers.

This is all old information, which is why Mr. Gannon has received the very first McPhee Award for excellence in being mistaken in his actions and/or thoughts.