It is curious to note that Kansas is another state where Mr. Darwin is taken to task.  His “theory” about natural selection and origin of species seems to me to threaten no one.  Yet there is this terribly obnoxious and embarrassing effort to overthrow “Darwinism” and replace it or enthrone an opposing “theory” in its place.  I think it only just that Mr. Darwin (or his ghost or surrogate) step up and demand a debate with the author of “Intelligent Design” – if we can find one. 

Intelligent Design is a creation of the proponents of downgrading modern science and replacing it with religious studies that tell about the Creation of the world as laid out in the first words of the Hebrew Bible. “Creationism” is clearly found in that Bible but you will be hard put to find who came up with the words “Intelligent Design”.  I suspect that there is this conspiracy on the religious right to

destroy public education and institute parochial subjects in its place. The denial of science is a dangerous and retrogressive thing. Who leads this thing?

This essay might be entitled “Whose intelligence is insulted by the ‘theory’ of Intelligent Design”?  The debate, not between Mr. Darwin (a shy and sickly individual for most of his post world travels on the good ship Beagle) and a spokesperson for Intelligent design is going on in school board meetings that are just preliminary to the eventual showdown in the halls of Congress.  The President (representing the religious right and NOT all the people he governs) has put his considerable power on the side of Intelligent Design AND Creationism.  Make no mistake about it.  The two are the same and the plan is to subvert what was once the principle that Church and State must be separate.  There was a wall between them when I took science classes in High School. In elementary school we sang the neutral religious “God Bless America” and the National Anthem but read passages from a “Bible” (this was a Protestant one – Catholics had problems with some of the prayers and 7^th Day Adventists remained silent) every morning before class. This added nothing to the learning that took place in classrooms.

It might be good if the issues were brought out into the open and debated by knowledgeable persons. In Tennessee, Conservatives won at the trial but the Liberals won the minds of most of the people. Mr. Darwin would not have been much of a speaker.  He was ponderous as a writer.  Some-one could pinch hit for him.  Who could it be?  Who would volunteer for the other side? A host of Bible Thumpers would cut each other’s throats for the chance to step up to that podium.

The “PEOPLE” really do not have a say in such matters.  This will be decided when enough pressure is put by interest groups on our lawmakers and then we truly will be in the soup. A referendum on the subject would be interesting.