Worship Darwin, that is.
Anti-evolution activists in Kansas and elsewhere have often accused pro-science folks of "worshipping Darwin as prophet" and of "indoctrinating children into materialism." Undoubtedly, there are some scientists who venture outside their field of expertise and claim that science proves there is no God. I regard these scientists' views on theology just as valid as our local fundamentalist ministers' insights into evolution.
Those extreme views generate a lot of headlines and are caricatured in the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a fitting subtitle for such an ignorant work. What gets ignored is the quiet mass of mainstream Christians, and scientists who don't feel they have to attack the faith of others to validate their own opinions. The producer of Expelled admitted that to include any interviews with evolution supporters who are also Christian would have "confused the film unnecessarily."
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation - FFRF - has been posting billboards around the country, one of which reinforces the fundamentalist view that accepting evolution is the same as espousing atheism. The text on the billboard posted this week in Wichita, Kansas, reads "Praise Darwin: Evolve Beyond Belief."
If the FFRF truly had Kansans' best interests at heart - that is, if they want to keep good science education standards alive out here - they could have used one of these signs they've used in other cities:
March, 2009
August 2008
December 2008
But, no. Instead, the FFRF is proud that it specifically chose the "Praise Darwin" sign for a city in Kansas because of our decade-long wrangle with evolution and the state science education standards:
One of the first rules in any struggle is that you don't engage in actions which will unnecessarily mobilize the opposition. Connie Morris' big mistakes out here were to arrogantly assume she had the qualifications to decide science curriculum, and to accuse science teachers of promoting atheism in class. That mobilized me and a lot of my friends to work successfully against her re-election. Likewise, specifically mounting the "Praise Darwin" billboard instead of one of the other FFRF signs will likely result in a flood of anti-evolution letters to newspapers across the state. If the Kansas fundamentalists have any cunning - and they do - they'll refer back to that billboard in the 2010 state school board elections to persuade otherwise-on-the-fence voters to elect an anti-evolution candidate.
In other words, due to their choice of sign for Wichita, the FFRF has unwittingly just made my job as a science teacher much more difficult than it has to be.
Don't think for an instant that I'm trying to abrogate anyone's right to free speech. I would never suggest that the FFRF should not be free to express an opinion in the public square. However, if they are going to intentionally douse the Kansas anti-evolution embers with ether, then we better not hear any high-and-mighty hand-wringing about how "those Kansans are so stupid" if our current science standards go down in flames the next time around.
posted by Cheryl Shepherd-Adams
