Madfloridian's Journal - The battles continue in Florida...Evolution versus Creationism.

I am finding the letters to the editors fascinating. Just this week there have been some real gems on both sides of the issue. I knew there would be resistance. I knew the creationism/intelligent design view was deeply embedded in this area of Florida with a Southern Baptist Church on every corner and four bible colleges, one turned university. Nonetheless I have been amazed.

Some of the recent letters refer to the Polk County School Board which is becoming quite famous.

Polk County, Florida: "Shaping children's minds to meet the demands of the 19th century."

No need to quote from the post, the picture from the Ledger article says it all.

Some excerpts from the recent letters, pro and con. I am impressed at the quality of most of them, some not so much.

Backward Education

It looks as if Polk County School Board members Fields, Harris, Lofton, Sellers and possibly Cunningham would have us return to those dark days of yesteryear when the old men who wove the creation fairy tale believed Earth was the center of the universe and that it was flat.

...."I ask the creationists to go back to the second verse of the Bible. "And the Earth was waste and void and darkness was upon the face of the Earth." If God created it all, as they think, why did he go through the trouble of creating an ugly mass that had to be improved upon? Who was he trying to impress with the improvements noted in Genesis?

Why did the writers of Genesis give him human frailties such as being so worn out he had to rest, or that he stepped back from each of his tasks and pronounced it good? If he was God, would he tire, or would he expect anything but good? If the answer to these questions is the old standby canard called faith, then it doesn't belong in a classroom.

A letter from December 5th.

Intelligent Design Doesn't Fit

Before we include Intelligent Design (ID) in our science curriculum, let's imagine other subject areas and wonder what it would be like to include disparate ideas therein. For example, we wouldn't expect our mathematics classes to teach George Washington's farewell address, because we would see the ideas presented there are not mathematical (though he does caution us against the multiplying ills of a two-party political system). And we would rightly cry foul if our language arts classes mandated the teaching of chemistry: The two ideas are like apples and Buicks.

This is one of my favorites. Short and to the point. Devastatingly accurate.

A Pattern of Ignorance?

Why does it seem that those who ignore the overwhelming evidence for evolution and global warming seem to accept the "weapons of mass destruction" myth? Is there a pattern here? It's a good thing that we have pictures from space showing the shape of Earth.

I hope that our future survival does not depend on some individuals losing their voter registration card.

And one more that caught my eye.

Road Map to Hillbilly USA

Dirty Harry understood that "a man's got to know his limitations." In that vein, we should ask since when are School Board members qualified to say what should be taught in science classes? None has expertise in this area. Don't get me wrong- I am sure each is competent in their own field. But none of the seven has a degree in a pure science discipline, Lori Cunningham coming closest with a B.S. in electrical engineering.

While I am sure they all have had some training in science, they have lost sight of its essence and scope. Because of this they cannot see why evolution is science and intelligent design is not. Indeed intelligent design is a compelling concept and if they want to include it in a philosophical or (gasp) religious context that is fine. Just keep it out of the science curriculum. Look out Polk County- as long as our School Board considers flouting science standards, we will remain Hillbilly USA.

I knew we had some smart folks around these parts. I guess it took finding out their own school board was opposed to teaching the scientific view to get them to speak out.