Tuesday, September 03, 2002

Cincinnati Enquirer Editorial: "Teach all the evidence"
Is this the reason why the Enquirer does not publish its editorial page on the web? I think Peter Bronson’s legacy has left its mark on the editorial board, and that is the mark of Cain!!!!! Well, in reality, it is the mark of evangelical/fundamentalist Christianity. The Enquirer editorial board is off their collective rocker. There is no credible evidence for any creationist theory yet put forth. Now, they did not use the qualifying term "credible", which I did, and that is where their argument fails. They confuse evidence with possibility. It is possible that one of the creationist variations is true. The probability that a creationist variation is true is lower than the possibility the Moon is made from cheese. Possibility is not congruent to probability, but many seem to miss the subtle difference.

There is more "evidence" that life began here on Earth via a spilled test tube from an alien kid on a field trip from the Vega Cluster School for Gifted Narns, than there is for any creationist myth, including "Intelligent Design". Intelligent Design is not a science concept, it is a philosophical concept. In fact Intelligent Design is nothing but a combination of the Teleological and Cosmological arguments for the existence of "god" found in most any basic philosophy textbook. Trying to pass this off as science is totally transparent. Any educated knows that the process of evolution is a fact, not a theory. The theory is in the details of that process, and to the “origin” of life. Most creationists do not see a difference in my explanation, but that goes with the use of flawed science. Creationists start with the assumption that a “god” exists and that the Christian Bible is infallible. Everything they come up with then cannot contradict those "facts."

The Enquirer's desire to "broaden the 'life origins' discussion in Ohio public schools" would logically be followed by the desire to broaden the discussions of the "theory" that the Earth revolves around the Sun, or the "theory" that "germs" cause disease thus making bloodletting unwarranted. Next the Enquirer will be lobbying for the Flat Earth Society along with the creationists. If they cannot see were this will lead they are not looking. Science is open to new ideas; it is not open to bad ideas that have been rejected. Holding on to your religious conviction is your right, but it is not your right to try and get every school kid exposed to them.

The effort to promote creationism is nothing more than a desire to protect and infuse a religion. This is not about open discussions. If you want an open discussion in schools, why not start with being open about sex, or the reality about drugs. The Enquirer instead just wants equal time for their religious beliefs. They want to protect their children from reality, instead of allowing them to learn about fact. The Enquirer is advocating the teaching of lies, magic and the supernatural as a regular part of science. Why not include witchcraft? That has as much place in science as their religion.

If the state school board votes to put any type of creationist dogma and propaganda, including intelligent design, into Ohio public schools the State will be the laughing stock of the nation. We will join the backward states, as the Enquirer jokes about, which have toyed with this nonsense before. This issue was settled long ago, but conservatives do not want to let go of their emotional crutch. The bible is not infallible. Religion is not science, it is not relevant to science, and it should not be part of the public school curriculum.

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