“I Give Evolution Two Opposable Thumbs Up” reads the bright blue rear window decal on my car. I have been given much positive feedback on it from strangers. Their feedback gives me a sense of hope that science is valued in Texas in spite of recent discussions by the Texas School Board regarding the watering-down of the science curricula regarding biological evolution1 .
Why do I need hope? I need hope because our nation, once a place to grow one budding scientist after another is failing. We don’t make scientists, we import them. If it were not for overseas engineers and scientists, the US would be trailing behind other nations in the fields of technology and science2 . What kind of future will the children of the U.S. have if the nation is poorly educated in science? Without proper education in the sciences, how can we properly overcome economic, energy, and environmental crises? The United States of America has a short but rich history of innovation and advancement.
What happened? We can point fingers at the quality of our educational system or at the parents who are not involved in their child’s schoolwork. Well, we can point fingers anywhere, really.
However, today I would like to point my finger at the unpatriotic U.S. citizens who oppose a proper education in the sciences. These folks want to teach science in a manner that will not conflict with a book that is a few thousand years old because of their faith. Religious faith should not be mixed with science. Fear and competition led us to achieve scientific greatness when we conquered outer space. It is now ignorance and religious dogma that has led us to our decline in scientific advancement.
We provide an ugly disservice to our nation’s heritage of innovation- one that has made us a great nation, when we place the obstacle of religious dogma in the way of scientific progress.
- http://ncseweb.org/news/2008/10/texas-scientists-support-teaching-evolution-002407 [<]
- http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9347/index1.htm [<]
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I always laugh when I hear ‘Great nation’.