When did ignorance become an American value?
During the presidential campaign, Sarah Palin's supporters blasted Katie Kouric for exposing her ignorance of foreign affairs. English-only advocates trumpet their bigotry. They claim that printing U.S. ballots in English alone will save great sums of money, never mind the fact that doing so disenfranchises millions of people (or that the money saved is insignificant). And the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE) campaigns tirelessly against educating children on topics like global warming, evolution, and prevention of sexually-transmitted disease. In discussing curriculum guidelines, TSBOE member David Bradley once said, "I'm sorry. This critical thinking stuff is gobbledygook." Say what?
"But I don't live in Texas," you say. Think again. The TSBOE determines what textbooks will be used in Texas classrooms. Since Texas is one of the largest purchasers of textbooks, publishers are eager to meet whatever guidelines the board adopts. Publishers are living in the same recession as the rest of us. They do not print a separate version for Texas. They print one book and sell it to everyone. So you may live in Illinois, but your children are likely to have the same books with the same flaws.
TSBOE passed new science guidelines on Friday. The old guidelines contained phrases like "teach the strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories." The new guidelines contain phrases like "examining all sides of scientific evidence." The board has an ideological agenda. They insist on making it possible for teachers to present "alternate theories" to subjects like evolution.
TSBOE is a political body made up of people who are not educators. The education guidelines they adopt are written by educators and subject-matter experts. The board members then amend the guidelines as they see fit. The board's chairman, Don McLeroy is a dentist who claims to refute the theory of evolution. He is openly hostile to those who point out that he is a dentist, and that his area of expertise is teeth. "Somebody has to stand up to the experts," he says of scientists who claim that evolution is good science.
These are the people who adopted standards that called for the teaching of the weaknesses in the theory of evolution. They also adopted the following standard on Friday: "Analyze and evaluate different views on the existence of global warming." The scientific community has reached consensus on this one, but let's not let the children hear.
Meanwhile, in Dallas, the George W. Bush Foundation is gearing up to start a policy institute at Southern Methodist University (SMU). This institute will not be governed by the university, as is customary with academic institutes. Instead, the head of the institute will answer to the Bush Foundation.
This arrangement is alarming because academic freedom has no guarantee. Given Bush's record, scholarship will take a back seat to toeing the party line. Academic freedom ensures that students and professors can produce scholarship free of ideology. Denying it takes us back to the days of Galileo and the inquisition.
The Texas GOP adopted a platform last year that calls for the abolition of all property taxes and the U.S. Department of Education. Since property taxes fund Texas public schools, they are saying that they want to stop funding public schools. Until then, they would like to spend public monies on private schools with voucher programs and tax deductions for tuition.
Where did this contempt for education and knowledge come from? Why do so many millions of Americans embrace it?
For those who genuinely believe that anti-intellectualism is good for the country, here is a suggestion: Take your children out of our public schools. Educate them or not as you see fit. Then, perhaps we non-zealots will be able to wrest an education for our children from a public school near us.
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Comments: 96
Featured in the Triple Name Club.
I knew I wanted you as my friend.
When our laborers started having to compete with the under-educated masses of other countries, who happily work for pennies.
It's all part of the plan to dumb down our general populous, so they will each be happy living and raising families on rice and tainted peanut butter, and living in tent cities.
As the progeny of educators, I find this "dumbing down" both disgusting and vile.
Isn't Ann great and well spoken and intelligent?
I know a Unity church that put a sign outside that said, "Unity, a church where you don't have to check your brains at the door."
educating children on topics like global warming, evolution, and prevention
of sexually-transmitted disease.
I live in Texas and have many family members that teach. They do teach
prevention of sexually oriented diseases as well as pregnancy.
So you are wrong about that.
You are right about the Global Warming BUNK because it is not proven and
also right about evolution for the same reason you cant teach creationism.
I find your article somewhat inaccurate and without merit because of those
inaccuracies. Also, Texas has the best health care facilities in the nation
along with some of the best research. I would disagree with you that
Texans are a bunch of uneducated rednecks.
Texas is ranked 25th out of 50...so its 50% better than:
Colorado;Delaware;Florida;Tennessee;Kentucky;Arkansas;Washington;Ohio;
Illinois;Oklahoma;West Virginia;Utah;Michigan;Oregon;Georgia;Hawaii;New Mexico;Louisiana;Alabama;Alaska;California;Mississippi;Nevada;Arizona
To further my point... Texas is ranked 6th in private schools.
So, if you are one of those states that is below Texas, you dont have room to talk.
~M
Of course that is small consolation.
I wonder if the big money people who control the Texas Legislature realize that they are cutting their own throats by eliminating the science in the science curriculum. Or do they expect to outsource all our technology needs.
Idiots.
,
What really pisses me off is that they may, by default, wind up making policy for what gets taught to MY grandkids here in Michigan. And here's a little flash for you ignorant dolts... Kids think teachers KNOW more than their parents. That makes it VERY hard to fight drivel. "Teacher said so," is a REALLY powerful argument to them.
Texas has a very large population of small town goobers who think that just because they are stupid everyone else should be. I grew up in one and couldn't wait to leave. You know one of those places where real Americans live.
When children are not getting a high quality education in the public schools, homeschooling is an excellent alternative. Concerned, responsible parents want to be well-informed about their children's curriculum.
In the 50s and 60s, sex ed and global warming were not taught, but we all learned about them. Evolution was taught as a theory, which is what it is. Schools teach facts. Parents teach values and those are individual.
Ignorance means a lack of knowledge. Bigotry means refusing to consider another viewpoint. Neither of these words should be used as a synonym for disagreeing with your views. Doing so might be perceived as ignorant or bigotted.
Home schooling? No. Really? Why?
Really, no, really! Why would you want to create a whole new generation who can't interact with their peers?
Why? Because YOUR kids are better than THEIR kids?
Wilka (adamant about education...PERIOD!)
Currently, fighting the fight in St. Louis, too.
Our's is stem cell research and creationism...JaySuess Keee-rist!
Blessed Be, Ann. Keep putting it out there.
Wilka
Because we want the same for the neighbor's kids as we do for our own, right?
A good education.
Wilka
Somebody HAS to change the oil in my truck, right?
Homeschooled: "I thinks jes like my momma.....cause I ain't got no frienz...to cornfuze me with they bad ways...An' tha's a good thang. PLUS, my momma don't think I can meazure up in no real school. Real schools iz bad."
Wilka
Let the education of americans be federally funded,
and federally measured,
Then you will achieve "national" standards.
And children in Mississippi (and Texas, god luv them) will get the same dollars for education that citizen's children in Ohio, California, or New York.
It comes just a bit closer to "fair."
And we can set standard LIMITS on education, the same as we can set a national standard of "expectations" in education for all of America's Youth.
Wilka
I will soon be a homeschooling mom, so for the sakes of my fingertips I think I will stay out of this one....I don't feel like replacing my keyboard...
But for the record...the public school teaches exactly that...PUBLIC...what the public or world wants...and so we allow the public to raise our children essentially because when children go to public school they spend the majority of the hours they are awake with someone other than their parents...learning who knows what!!
I am not calling you ignorant, I am saying that you just don't seem to know your facts...so you probably shouldn't say anything for fear of making a bigger a** of yourself...
I think it's because their curriculum is, or can be, much better than the schools'. Parents all want the best they can provide for our children.
I also thought homeschoolers were at a disadvantage until I got to know some. Education is a high priority to me and these kids are not ignorant or socially backward.
They usually score well above the ps kids and they play with kids from public and private schools in their neighborhoods. Homeschoolers network for field trips and swap books and study materials.
Take a look at some of the statistics and also the homeschooling curriculums. There is so much material available and with such a small group, these kids can cover far more than a class in a school. It's surprising and very impressive.
Maybe we you can petition our government to command them to change the system the way you seem to want it to be.
"science" of what?
Evolutionary science is science. You have decided it is not, but that does not mean you are correct.
So, please...get your facts straight before starting to put down homeschool kids. Colleges now RECRUIT homeschooled children because they are proving themselves to be the leaders of their generation. I dare anyone to meet my children and then try to tell me they are antisocial or uneducated.
Wanting something is not enough. You must hunger for it. Your motivation must be absolutely compelling in order to overcome the obstacles that will invariably come your way.
In the end, it is the person you become, not the things you have achieved, that is the most important.
The difficulty with this dispute revolves around the teaching of SCIENCE, not the teaching of evolution or meteorology. The subjects are used to teach the methods of science as much as to teach the theories. Studying evolution teaches how to study observable evidence. If you study the observable evidence the concept of evolution is the logical conclusion. That is how Darwin formulated the theory. It is also how Einstein formulated the theory of relativity, and how Newton formulated the laws of motion. Not teaching people HOW to observe and conclude is virtually criminal.
ATTENTION! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "SCIENTIFIC THEORY" AND A "HUNCH." PEOPLE, EVOLUTION THEORY IS NOT "JUST AN IDEA" PLEASE GRAB AN ACTUAL SCIENCE BOOK OR FOR GOD'S SAKE GO TO WIKIPEDIA AND LOOK UP THE FRIGGIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY BEFORE SPEWING OFF! YOU'RE INSISTANCE THAT EVOLUTION IS "JUST A THEORY" MERELY IS A WRITTEN TESTAMENT TO HOW LITTLE YOU UNDERSTAND SCIENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
MORONS!
*gets off soapbox. Puts megaphone down. And quietly sulks off to lament the demise of scientific education.*
Well how about some proof about some god marylan?
Read Darwin and turn off your teevee moron.
Besides it is a proven fact thet any child in texas that shows intelligence is sent to New York or eaten.
See the entire middle east.
Are you saying that creationism is science? Science is science. The Bible is the Bible. One is religion. Science is science. The Bible should be taught in Sunday School and Church. Please don't try to mix the two.
Basically the problem in Texas is blind religion and Republican power.
26% of the country's oil is produced in Houston alone.
Texas Medical Center is the ranked 2 globally in healthcare and cancer research.
Private schools are ranked #6 nationally
Texas leads all other states in oil, cattle, sheep, and cotton, poultry and eggs, dairy products, greenhouse and nursery products, wheat, hay, rice, sugar cane, and peanuts, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.
4 Presidents were born here.
Texas has many green energy companies and promotes it constantly.
Texas upholds the Constitution as every state should
Texans have more manners and are far more polite in society
Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA and has the most diversity of ethnic populations, Houston is 2nd for the number of restaurants (we do love our food)
Property values went UP compared to everyone else's catastrostrophic tumble.
Cost of living here gives you the availability of having a very nice home for 250,000.
Texas is ranked # 3 for the most millionaires in a state.
As I said, you are blind. This is the best state anywhere.
~M
Although I believe in Creation, I can also see that evolution has been part of human development. For example, we no longer have a use for the vermiform appendix or our wisdom teeth. Physiologists are not certain of the original function of the appendix, but wisdom teeth were once needed for eating tough meats and raw vegetation. Our jaws are now smaller and there isn't room for those teeth.
At my daughter's parochial school, the sex ed curriculum was designed by a committee of school board members, faculty and parents. The books and materials were chosen by the committee. It was very carefully planned to provide necessary information and to help the students make responsible, moral choices.
Information about the environment began in preschool, with the little ones bringing in milk jugs to recycle. Children came home from school and became the family ecology police, reminding parents to turn off lights and not waste water.
The issues are important to learn, but I would like to see more emphasis on spelling, grammar and handwriting. Graduates are computer whiz kids, but can't spell or write legibly. That is wrong.
As usual, statism spawns a multitude of problems for every perceived (alleged) problem addressed by statist (read: coercive) means.
At any rate, neither global warming nor human evolution are proven scientific facts; and since "public schools" are rigidly "regulated" by bureaucratic monopoly and funded by taxpayers, and since parents are required to send their children to the compulsory youth indoctrination camps, then I think it would piling injustice on top of injustice to have children subjected to what could only be objectively considered as global warming propaganda and human evolution hypothesis being passed off as legitimate science.
In a free market environment, there would be a great variety of options for parents, to decide how they wanted their kids to be educated.
Since we don't have a market, then we'll always have various special interest groups all pushing to have their own subjective worldview imposed en masse through the government monopoly system.
If we absolutely must have the violent abolition of markets in the education industry, then we should at least aim to add as little insult to injustice as possible. Thus, schools should stick to teaching kids only that which can be upheld as objective, universal scientific fact, and refrain from dabbling in the subjective, the hypothetical, the ideological or the unproven -- as for them to do so, cannot be objectively considered "education," but more akin to indoctrination.
Since you've stepped down off you soapbox, you might want to consider the fact that human evolution is not proven.
I admit that its a compelling theory, and that there is evidence which suggests that humans descended from primates, but there is no conclusive evidence.
Indeed, the fact that no conclusive evidence in favor of has yet been discovered, could well be construed to be compelling evidence against.
Personally, I have no problem with my children being taught about the theory of evolution in science class. However, I recognize that there are many parents who would not, and they have just as much right to have their children educated the way they would prefer, as I or anyone else does.
Just because the horror of state-monopoly indoctrination camps which pass as "public education" are inherently unjust and cannot help but to violate the rights of parents, doesn't mean that we should all pretend like those rights do not exist.
//Evolution was taught as a theory, which is what it is.// From Wikipedia: "A theory, in the general sense of the word, is an analytic structure designed to explain a set of observations. A theory does two things: it identifies this set of distinct observations as a class of phenomena, and makes assertions about the underlying reality that brings about or affects this class. The term is often used colloquially to refer to any explanatory thought, even fanciful or speculative ones, but in scholarly use it is reserved for ideas which meet baseline requirements about the kinds of observations made, the methods of classification used, and the consistency of the theory in its application among members of that class. " Are you using the word according to its dictionary definition or in the colloquial sense? Saying, "It's just a theory" only shows one's ignorance.
It dismays me that people in any region of the country try to force others to believe, and teach, exactly what they believe and nothing else - regardless of the underlying facts of the subject. I have my personal religious beliefs, but I would never try to impose them on anyone else! I taught my child that God made us intelligent and curious because He wants us to explore and learn about His creation. Those who want to ban science from public classrooms seem to be the kind who thinks God will send them to hell if they ask any questions at all!
The TSBOE wants to allow the teaching of creationism and intelligent design to be given emphasis equal to that of evolution, because evolution contradicts their very narrow religious views, which are that if humans are descended from other primates, they are nothing more than animals, and therefore, do not have souls, upon which rests the entire thought structure of their theology.
This is definitely bigotry. The fact that they refuse to acknowledge the work of the scientific community about evolution and global warming is definitely ignorance. Not because I don't agree with it, but because it is objectively true.
Is Texas Bad for Kids?
BY RICHARD WHITTAKER The Austin Chronicle Jan 16, 2009
Children in Texas are more likely to be born underweight, grow up in poverty, and face underfunded health and mental services than the national average. Those are just some of the worrying statistics in the 2009 "Children's Campaign Report" issued by advocacy group Texans Care for Children – just in time for the start of the 81st Legislature. The body's executive director, Eileen Garcia-Matthews, said she hopes legislators will look at these statistics and reform the state's provisions for children with "a comprehensive plan, rather than the piecemeal approach we have now."
Collated from state and federal sources, the report compares year-to-year changes against Texas' own record and the national average. It shows that many baseline problems in child development remain untackled, while improvements in some areas have not stopped the state from trailing in national rankings. Garcia-Matthews called the report's contents "markers for where the system is letting people down."
The failures are serious: Texas was worst in the nation in several categories, including teen pregnancies, high school completion, children without health insurance, and adults in the criminal justice system – a significant issue because 56% of inmates incarcerated in state or federal prisons have children under the age of 18. Most worrying for Garcia-Matthews are trends in infant mortality: While still below the current national average of 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, the rate in Texas has risen from 5.7 in 2000 to 6.6 in 2006. "When you look at indicators that say something about a society, for us to move from ninth to 21st, that says there's something wrong," she said.
And when you want to brag about your millionaires? And being the Peanut capitol of the world? Just Google Stewart Parnell, who is facing murder raps for KNOWINGLY spreading salmonella from his nuts--nationwide. (Pun intended.) 9 dead, and forcing the largest food recall in the history of the US. All the while, he was performed as a lead on the State Peanut Safety Board...selling, KNOWINGLY selling bad products to nursing homes, schools, and the armed services.
That being said...I have to add a disclaimer, lest you think my state is better than yours...
Missouri? We're not in good standing either. It will take us a decade to dig our way out of too many years of right wing, religious, ultra conservative, feed the millionaires, underfund education/social services regime. But we're working on it.
As for home schooling? No. I do not believe in it. If the schools are not good enough for your kids, either fix the schools (everyone benefits) OR move to a state/county/country that will provide a quality education for your children.
Or, better yet, subsidize the education that your kids get in school--at home. That's how it should be, perhaps.
Wilka
I would respectfully disagree with that as it is worded in the above comment. I work in Health care in Texas, specifically San Antonio, 8th largest city in the US with one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country.
Yes, Texas has some of the better health care facilities, MD Anderson for one is world renowned for their Cancer research and treatment. With no insurance it is very difficult to get care there.
Education in Texas is hit and miss. Many of my friends have taught in the schools here. Those who have recently retired look on in horror at what the TSBOE is doing to their education system.
Not sharing another's belief does not make one a bigot or ignorant. You may reject my beliefs, and I respect your right to do so. To reject them without having learned about them would be ignorant and bigotted.
As for global warming, not even experts seem to be able to pin down specifics. I see nothing wrong with exploring what is known and also what is predicted and suspected with students. To teach students that a theory is a fact, however, is wrong. To explore the theory is a learning process. I think we are all still learning about global warming.
I am feeling encouraged that so many people are so committed to excellence in education.
There may be some disagreement over curriculum, but I'm reading a lot of concerned comments here. With this kind of support, public schools can be improved and American students will receive a higher quality of education.
high school completion: 1994 was 55% - 2008 69%... progress is a good thing
children without health insurance: Should be listed as YOUNG ADULTS: 42.5%
adults in the criminal justice system: Texas reported the largest decline, from 16331 to 10764 prisoners.
infant mortality: While still below the current national average of 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, the rate in Texas has risen from 5.7 in 2000 to 6.6 in 2006. 11.5% of all Texans are ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS... you dont think that makes the EDUCATION numbers go down?
The majority of immigrants from Mexico and Central America do not have high school diplomas. According to the Houston surveys and consistent with the U.S. census, fully 72 percent of all the Latino immigrants in Harris County come from Mexico, another 13 percent are from El Salvador, and 8 percent from elsewhere in Central America.
You need to get better facts. You are using facts from 1994. This is 2009.
~M
~M
Society will forever have people who are very far left and very far right. Somehow or another things even out always.
I love my state and got a great education here. And let's not overlook the fact that it was one of the last states to feel the recession, so we must be doing something right. Not only that, but I have met so many people from other countries who are so glad to be here. (I work in a tax office.)
I appreciate that so many of you are keeping an eye on your children's education, but don't forget, the most education a child gets is from home.
One other thing: Take out illegal immigrants? How do you propose to do that? I am not in favor of "taking out" anyone. Everyone counts. Numbers, the REAL numbers matter. Not a wish list. We deal with reality one moment, and then we scrape down and say, "but, if..." Reality is not based on But, if... Or the Yes, but....
We deal with the real.
And Senia, I am not Texas bashing, I was equalizing Michaels inflated statements. We agree, that keeping an eye on our children's ed is good...and we also agree tha most education (in good circumstances) occurs at home.
Wilka
Either way, regardless of your acceptance of facts presented, Texas is ranked 25 out of 50 for health care and high school graduation is going up consistently (69%).
We have a state with more GSP than most countries' GDP. This state is amazing. Plus we are nice and polite. We open doors for strangers and grocery store sackers say hello. People help each other here without signing a contract. They do because they should. I wish more people were like that.
~M
"I am struck with the fact daily that the more information we accumulate, the more validation we find of Darwin's theory." Once new material has nestled into a host's genome via horizontal transfer, the genetic material is as subject to natural selection as ever. Truly one of the most remarkable traits of Darwinism itself is that it has withstood heavy scientific scrutiny for a century and a half and still manages to accommodate the latest ideas. "So far the data sets we've looked at and the surprises we've found show that the essence of the idea is right," Haussler says.
Also,
Disbelief in human descent may have been a justifiable comfort in Darwin's time, when few fossils of human ancestors had been discovered, but the evidence no longer allows it.
Let chuck and glen have texas and the rest of us can go on from there.
And then of course, people are looking to the likes of Joe The Plumber for guidance.....that is very scary, but also shows how "dumbed down" we have become.
Perhaps....just perhaps, with our new president touting education as a must for our country to once again excell in the international arena, educators may hold the same prestige as they do in other countries. One can only hope. ( as an educator myself, I just keep hoping ...)
the sciences generally, scientific theories are constructed from elementary theorems that consist in empirical data about observable phenomena. A scientific theory is used as a plausible general principle or body of principles offered to explain a phenomenon.[1]
A scientific theory is a deductive theory, in that, its content is based on some formal system of logic and that some of its elementary theorems are taken as axioms. In a deductive theory, any sentence which is a logical consequence of one or more of the axioms is also a sentence of that theory.[2]
A major concern in construction of scientific theories is the problem of demarcation, i.e., distinguishing those ideas that are properly studied by the sciences and those that are not.
Theories whose subject matter consists not in empirical data, but rather in ideas are in the realm of philosophical theories as contrasted with scientific theories. At least some of the elementary theorems of a philosophical theory are statements whose truth cannot necessarily be scientifically tested through empirical observation.
A hypothesis (from Greek ???????? [i?po?esis]) consists either of a suggested explanation for an observable phenomenon or of a reasoned proposal predicting a possible causal correlation among multiple phenomena. The term derives from the Greek, hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose." The scientific method requires that one can test a scientific hypothesis. Scientists generally base such hypotheses on previous observations or on extensions of scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously in common and informal usage, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A Hypothesis is never to be stated as a question, but always as a statement with an explanation following it. It is not to be a question because it states what he/she thinks or believes will occur.
Occam's Razor, also Ockham's Razor,[1] is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham. The principle states that the explanation of any phenomenon should make as few assumptions as possible, eliminating those that make no difference in the observable predictions of the explanatory hypothesis or theory. The principle is often expressed in Latin as the lex parsimoniae ("law of parsimony", "law of economy", or "law of succinctness"): entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem, roughly translated as "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity." An alternative version Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate translates "plurality should not be posited without necessity." [2]
When multiple competing hypotheses are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selecting the hypothesis that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities. It is in this sense that Occam's razor is usually understood.
Maybe once people can grasp these very, very simple scientific concepts, this ridiculous conversation can end. To put it in baby words for the really dense.
Scientists do not work in absolutes.
A Scientific theory is meant to look at actual evidence and discern a logical chain of events.
Theory evolves as new data is collected.
Evolutionary theory is SCIENCE because it uses actual evidence to discern a logical chain of events.
Our understanding of evolutionary theory changes as we gather more evidence.
Creationism is not science because it does not use actual evidence to discrn a logical chain of events.
Creationism refuses to evolve when presented with new evidence.
Creationism is philosophy, not science.
Creationism and Evolution should not be taught in the same class, because they are two distinctly different concepts.
:O\
This is why theories need to be studied and explored with the students. No teacher should present a theory as fact, but should encourage students to explore, research and make their own conclusions.
Creationism is not a science - true. It also cannot be proven...at this time. If unproven theories and assorted philosophies are taught, why not include creation? Students should be given encouragement to explore all avenues of learning.
Someone else noted that science still talks about gravity as "the theory of gravity." Maybe we should teach the theory of gravity next to the myths of ancient Greece. Then let children decide if they want to believe in gravity or greco-roman gods holding our feet to the ground.
Somebody HAS to change the oil in my truck, right?-Wilka
I don't know about other states, but here in MI most of our mechanics, like my hubby, have college degrees in Automotive Technologies. They work for years and go to classes and take liscensing tests to try to become a "Master Mechanic". Part of his job includes oil changes.
Now, if you're talking to the drop out who didn't even bother to get a GED at Jiffy Lube or something, OK.
There is no rhyme or reason why these people support the elements of the Republican Party most likely to vote in legislation that will harm their social class because they are bedazzled often by key words as family, values, and Jesus…oh, yes and guns. You put that all together with a foam finger saying that the United States is number one and these mildly brain dead (no disrespect for the zombies who may read this) sycophants cheer as they cut back on essentials such as food and medical care.
Perhaps part of the appeal for these folks is that someone such as George Bush is just like them. Of course they can have a beer with him because despite of his education (and we all know he went to Ivy League schools because of Daddy) he doesn’t talk down to them, he talks at their level. Even though I think of his as the dumbest SOB that the US has ever had as president, a tiny part of me (a fraction really) feels for him because it was perfectly obvious, as anyone who as seen the tape of him finding out that the nation was under attack during 9/11, that he knew he was out of his depth. In many ways he was the windup toy that those who want power and money at whatever price (even if it means dismantling our nation’s workforce) which is why the world economy is melting. Even if he was inclined to try and stop it, he didn’t understand it enough to do anything.
Ignorance has become an America value because from ignorance comes fear and from fear comes haste which inevitably leads to waste – waste of intellect, waste of resources, waste of community spirit. Lose these things and then there is no one with the inclination to question authority because they are too busy screaming about individualism as they try and fit their rotund circular selves into preapproved square pegs.
As for creationism, it doesn't rise to the level of theory. Julie Ann said it far better, but intelligent design/creationism says: an intelligent being created the universe.
You either believe that or you don't. What else can be said about it? How can it be "taught" in a science class or any other class?
In practice, the "teaching" of creationism is the finding of fault with evolution, in other words, it it anti-science.
That gravitiy is technically a very "strong" thing, but not in our universe, because you can pick things up, walk around, etc. When they reversed the idea of which way gravity flowed they discovered that a whole lot of math suddenly worked.