Believe It or Not...
The battle to teach Fundamentalist Christian dogma as "science" in Kansas public schools is heating up again.
"The hearings in Topeka, scheduled to last several days, are focusing on two proposals. The first recommends that students continue to be taught the theory of evolution because it is key to understanding biology. The other proposes that Kansas alter the definition of science, not limiting it to theories based on natural explanations."
If they're willing to go this far, I can only hope they'll be kind enough to open their classrooms to every known kind of pseudoscience, not just their own preferred brand. By these criteria, Black Magic must be viewed as similarly valid. Spiritualism, Raelianism, Scientology, the theories of Wilhelm Reich.. I want to see ALL of it in those classrooms. Maybe Kansas can open the first American branch of Hogworts (think of the tourist trade!). Granted, dark ages-style ignorance is a valid lifestyle choice in America, but this smacks of desperation; a full-out assault on centuries worth of progress led by people who find it much easier to lock out contradictory viewpoints and beliefs than think about them. If I truly hated America, I'd be rooting for these folks to attain positions of real power ASAP because the sooner they do, the sooner this country dissolves into multiple squabbling theocracies, each armed to the teeth and aching to kill over various interpretations of "God's Word". As retired schoolteacher Kathy Martin says in the article, "We can't ignore that our nation is based on Christianity — not science." I can imagine our Founding Fathers, being products of the Age of Enlightenment, taking more than a little issue with that assessment. Mrs. Martin, a member of the Kansas state board of education, is residing over the hearings that will determine whether Kansas decides to remain a part of the real world or help usher in the new Age of Militant Ignorance. Thanks, Kathy! We'll be back to public stonings in no time!
"The hearings in Topeka, scheduled to last several days, are focusing on two proposals. The first recommends that students continue to be taught the theory of evolution because it is key to understanding biology. The other proposes that Kansas alter the definition of science, not limiting it to theories based on natural explanations."
If they're willing to go this far, I can only hope they'll be kind enough to open their classrooms to every known kind of pseudoscience, not just their own preferred brand. By these criteria, Black Magic must be viewed as similarly valid. Spiritualism, Raelianism, Scientology, the theories of Wilhelm Reich.. I want to see ALL of it in those classrooms. Maybe Kansas can open the first American branch of Hogworts (think of the tourist trade!). Granted, dark ages-style ignorance is a valid lifestyle choice in America, but this smacks of desperation; a full-out assault on centuries worth of progress led by people who find it much easier to lock out contradictory viewpoints and beliefs than think about them. If I truly hated America, I'd be rooting for these folks to attain positions of real power ASAP because the sooner they do, the sooner this country dissolves into multiple squabbling theocracies, each armed to the teeth and aching to kill over various interpretations of "God's Word". As retired schoolteacher Kathy Martin says in the article, "We can't ignore that our nation is based on Christianity — not science." I can imagine our Founding Fathers, being products of the Age of Enlightenment, taking more than a little issue with that assessment. Mrs. Martin, a member of the Kansas state board of education, is residing over the hearings that will determine whether Kansas decides to remain a part of the real world or help usher in the new Age of Militant Ignorance. Thanks, Kathy! We'll be back to public stonings in no time!
posted by Aaron Neathery at 2:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home