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From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion
Subject: Re: "Secular Humanism" banned in the US Schools.
Message-ID: <1736@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Sep-85 10:15:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.1736
Posted: Fri Sep 20 10:15:24 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Sep-85 06:02:53 EDT
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Organization: Whatever we're calling ourselves this week
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Xref: watmath net.politics:11101 net.religion:7717

> I see.  You have the right to indoctrinate the creationist's kids in
> evolution, but he has no right to object to this indoctrination. [WINGATE]

Just as he has no "right" to object to their being "indoctrinated" with
mathematics.  As Bill Jefferys so eloquently pointed out, teaching
biology without teaching evolutionary theory is like teaching arithmetic
without teaching division.  The notion that parents have a "right" to
thwart the education of their children is abominable.  If, after having
learned about reasoning, science, math, and thought in school, the child
is told by the parents' about some of their own theories, great.  Let
them then decide for themselves.  Perhaps some parents are afraid their
children will laugh at them.  And we can't have that, can we?  Next thing
you know, we'll have "rock and roll records" making fun of parents, too. :-)

> I say, let them keep their kids out.  If creationism is so obviously wrong,
> they'll realize this in college (or wherever they run into evolution as
> adults).

It's most important for people who want to indoctrinate others to "get" them
while they're young and impressionable.  Great, Charlie.  By the time they're
adults, they'll be like those who stick to the "learned" beliefs without
wincing at contradictory evidence.  This is exactly what we need to stop.

> For the most part, it doesn't matter anyway.  If not knowing evolution is so
> advantageous, people will begin to realize this and will back away from
> hardline creationism.

I assume you meant "if knowing evolution is ..."  The point is not just
evolution.  Evolution is a reasonable conclusion that is reached by
scientific reasoning, based on scientific evidence.  If you don't want
people to reach that conclusion, you must teach them incorrect things about
science, or not teach it at all.

> And if it isn't, then, maybe it isn't all that important to teach it in
> school.

Yeah, and math, too.  Who needs math when we have calculators?  And by the
way, as long as we're chopping the school budget by eliminating required
courses, let's leave out anything to do with serious independent thought
and reasoning.  God, otherwise our children might disagree with us, and
that would destabilize society...
-- 
Anything's possible, but only a few things actually happen.
					Rich Rosen    pyuxd!rlr


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