Angels pushing planets...
September 19, 2008
Why shouldn't a woman who believes we were all created roughly 6,000 years ago and that ya, sure, the dinosaurs were in there somewhere, be vice president of the USA? Why not? Fossil schmossil. Evolution is for losers. I don't even know why it's included in our curriculum!!! Nothing wrong with that is there? Besides, she's a spunky hockey mom and that means she's, well, she's just swell...
So, what's driving this sarcasm? Well, the vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is apparently an advocate of teaching Intelligent Design Creationism (IDC) in public school science classrooms alongside evolution. When answering a question from the moderator of a televised debate Ms. Palin said, “Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.” (From a televised debate on KAKM Channel 7 during the Alaskan governor’s race in 2006)
Ya. Sounds harmless enough. Healthy debate is important. And yes, we shouldn't be afraid of information. But if you really look at what she's saying...
Well…..Dear Ms. Palin, FYI. Intelligent Design Creationism is not a theory, it's a belief. To argue that all discussion is good...and suggest it be taught along side the theory of evolution is really dumb. That's like teaching the "theory" that angels actually push the planets and stars around the solar system as an alternative to Newton's theory of "Universal Gravitation." Of course, teach it, but in a religion class, where a discussion of beliefs belongs and religious "stories" belong.
I recently ran across an article by Ed Brayton, the president of the advisory board of Michigan Citizens for Science. He thinks Palin’s views on science education are dangerous. "Colloquially, we tend to use the word “theory” to mean “wild-assed guess.” In science, theory is actually the highest level of certainty assigned to proposed explanations. And in science, a theory must have specific attributes: it must be testable, it must be falsifiable and it must explain the data well. Evolution meets all of those tests; Intelligent Design Creationism meets none of them."
Ed, I’m with you on this one.
5 Comments
1. deb had this to say: Sep 23, 2008 ~ 06:03 ~ #
Ms. Palin scares the pants off me, not just because of creationism, but also because of teaching kids abstinence instead of sex education, denying women abortions, leaving her three day old baby boy to return to work and a whole lot of other things. It’s sad because it should have been a good thing that a woman was chosen to run as vice president but the republicans screwed that up too.
2. Thomas had this to say: Sep 23, 2008 ~ 15:30 ~ #
I know. She’s a piece of work…Take away all the personal stuff that I really don’t care about and really, is none of my business….you still have a woman in a party that wants to take away women’s rights, instill a culture of sexual ignorance in our kids, just drill the shit our of the planet until there’s no more oil and no more clean air…ah….there isn’t enough space here….and I can’t drink right now.
3. Elena Ray had this to say: Oct 02, 2008 ~ 09:13 ~ #
...can’t criticise McCain’s choice of her as VP enough…he has zero vision-it was a desperate blind grasp, an offering to the christian right. Amazingly, it is not her religious beleifs that are killing their campaign now, it is the revelation that she has never once thought about life beyond the Alaskan borders. She’s completely innocent of national and international affairs. Her hubris in accepting the nomination for vice president of the United States proves to me that she is fundamentally ignorant…she doesn’t get it. She thinks God called her to service. But perhaps he works in mysterious ways. I thinks she’s gonna hand the election to Obama!
4. rihwnpz had this to say: Oct 19, 2008 ~ 07:43 ~ #
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5. Electrolucy had this to say: Oct 20, 2008 ~ 11:45 ~ #
ID as a ‘theory’ drives me up the wall. Thank ‘god’ for Skeptical Inquirer…