Poisoning The Well

On the 22nd July, a victory was won. It was a very important victory. It is one that very few will be aware of, but it has implications for standards of education globally. It happened in Texas. Texas, I hear you say? How can anything that happens in Texas impose on us here? Let me explain; the Texas board of education had been lobbied by the Creationist movement to introduce Intelligent Design into the curriculum. Now the significance of this comes from the sheer size of Texas itself, which is one of the largest purchasers of educational literature in the States. What I'm saying therefore, is that if Texan textbooks had been revised to include Creationist dogma, then there's a good chance that other States would have been offered the same books. So you can see the potential harm. You would have seen Creationist propaganda served up to young and vulnerable minds,  muddying the pool of scientific knowledge that has made such a massive difference to the world in which we dwell. Thankfully, and crucially, a swathe of experts offered testimony based on the latest knowledge we have accrued in the field of biology, and in a unanimous vote the school board voted against the suggested revisions. Problem solved? Not so fast. One needs to understand the depth of delusion and mental retardation the Creationists are subject to. They will be back, offering the same old nonsense in a slightly revised package, and they will have to be defeated again. These people, masquerading as the righteous and deliverers of the ultimate truth are, in reality, no more than snake oil salesman, liars and tricksters with a God given agenda to purge the world of evolution.  A brief caveat now; evolution by natural selection is regarded as nothing less than the unified theory of field biology. If anything can be considered a fact then it is the theoretical underpinnings of this majestic theory. Of course, there is a certain brand of believer who simply cannot cope with the concept of being related to every other creature that has ever walked, crawled, flown, slithered, or taken root upon the planet. No, they protest; we are special, we are distinct, made in the image of the Creator.
No, we are not. We share a common ancestry. We have genetic, molecular, and fossil evidence to demonstrate this to all but the most imprisoned mind. Once again we see religion stood in active opposition to reality, a stumbling block to progress, a bewildered banana skin to lead the credulous and the vulnerable, or those just too lazy to care astray. Unbelievably, the majority of the American population still hold to a range of Creationist views, from a literal reading of Genesis to the equally inane ideas undergirding the Intelligent Design lobby. Thankfully, at every turn they have been defeated, but ask yourself; why should such an established theory as evolution be required to defend itself against these people? Why should science teachers have to be wary of teaching it for fear that parents will protest? Here we see the full extent of religious delusion made manifest, seeking to pollute and putrefy and retard. Down the years it has been successful, and I myself was a victim of the scam. Yet things are changing as never before. Religion is being asked to give an account of itself, to explain why it even deserves a seat at the table of rational discourse. And the results are not good for them. People are, at last getting wise to the ruse, and abandoning the ship with ever increasing haste. This trend is most encouraging amongst students, which of course bodes well. If we can raise a up a generation that pay no heed to ancient dogma then they can be focused on making this world a good world, a better world, a cared for world. Above all, a world that ceases from tearing itself apart over who has the best imaginary friend.