The year-end issue of the prestigious journal Science today declared that freshly gathered evidence of evolution "in action" was the year's number one scientific breakthrough. Science is a principle publication in which scientific theories are exposed to peer review, a major tenet of the scientific method. Click for link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10574901/from/RSS/
This comes on the heels of a landmark judicial verdict in Pennsylvania outlawing the presentation in classrooms of Intelligent Design as an alternative scientific theory to Darwinian Evolution. It seems obvious to me that the "facts of evolution" have been firmly established. The evidence is overwhelming. Just look at the fossil record. And yes, it has been observed in modern times as species adapt to environmental conditions. The "theory of evolution" seeks to explain how the facts of evolution came into being. Those who propose additions or alterations to the theory are subject to intense scientific peer review. It is the most fully developed and elegant explanation of natural history ever devised. It is also simple and logical.
It has been established by the courts that the first amendment to the Constitution implies that governmental authorities must not impose the precepts of any particular religion on their citizens. Creationism is obviously not science: It is adherence to a fairy tale explanation of the origin of species, which amazingly, many modern American adults still continue to feel comfortable believing. It is a religious concept that our ancestors developed during an earlier time when little was known about the natural world. Intelligent Design was a hastily devised alternative meant to circumvent legal precedent by making something like Creationism appear to be a science. Judge Jones was not fooled. He refused to allow it in a science classroom administered by governmental authorities in a situation in which school attendance is mandatory. He is a great credit to the American judiciary.
Let us hope that the people of our country march forward into the 21st century with the same acceptance of reality that has embraced the rest of the literate nations of the world. Let us think with our highly evolved brains and avoid the automatic acknowledgement of nonsense taught by demagogues seeking to maintain their positions of authority and sources of income. These purveyors of ignorance have actively worked at keeping Americans in darkness for far too long. The Enlightenment of western mankind began over 200 years ago; it is about time that we Americans all join it. If more Americans become well educated and critically thinking adults, the rest of the world will once again look upon us as a people to be respected, imitated and worthy of a position of leadership in international affairs.
This comes on the heels of a landmark judicial verdict in Pennsylvania outlawing the presentation in classrooms of Intelligent Design as an alternative scientific theory to Darwinian Evolution. It seems obvious to me that the "facts of evolution" have been firmly established. The evidence is overwhelming. Just look at the fossil record. And yes, it has been observed in modern times as species adapt to environmental conditions. The "theory of evolution" seeks to explain how the facts of evolution came into being. Those who propose additions or alterations to the theory are subject to intense scientific peer review. It is the most fully developed and elegant explanation of natural history ever devised. It is also simple and logical.
It has been established by the courts that the first amendment to the Constitution implies that governmental authorities must not impose the precepts of any particular religion on their citizens. Creationism is obviously not science: It is adherence to a fairy tale explanation of the origin of species, which amazingly, many modern American adults still continue to feel comfortable believing. It is a religious concept that our ancestors developed during an earlier time when little was known about the natural world. Intelligent Design was a hastily devised alternative meant to circumvent legal precedent by making something like Creationism appear to be a science. Judge Jones was not fooled. He refused to allow it in a science classroom administered by governmental authorities in a situation in which school attendance is mandatory. He is a great credit to the American judiciary.
Let us hope that the people of our country march forward into the 21st century with the same acceptance of reality that has embraced the rest of the literate nations of the world. Let us think with our highly evolved brains and avoid the automatic acknowledgement of nonsense taught by demagogues seeking to maintain their positions of authority and sources of income. These purveyors of ignorance have actively worked at keeping Americans in darkness for far too long. The Enlightenment of western mankind began over 200 years ago; it is about time that we Americans all join it. If more Americans become well educated and critically thinking adults, the rest of the world will once again look upon us as a people to be respected, imitated and worthy of a position of leadership in international affairs.
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Curt Renz
