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Saturday, December 31, 2005
ID in Florida
I've found a new story to follow closely: Gov. Jeb Bush's handling of the evolution/ID debate in Florida. Several days ago he backed away from making any sort of recognizable comments, but the Orlando Sentinel reports today that he released the following clear-as-day statement:
"Perhaps more importantly, we should encourage the vigorous discussion of varying viewpoints in our classrooms. A healthy debate of issues challenges our students' minds."
It's all about the kids, after all. Gov. Bush released a statement yesterday because "some confusion about my position on this issue has emerged in recent weeks." As you can see (and read the whole release for any context I may have left out) he really cleared it up for us. I'm not the only one who feels this way:
"We shouldn't have to divine what he's saying," said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. "Really, there's no reason to be vague. Do you think it should be in science classes or not?"
The most frustrating aspect of the push to teach ID alongside evolution is that everyone but the creationists and evolutionists are afraid to open their mouths about the topic. This includes politicians who know that most of the country doesn't even know how evolution and natural selection operates. Furthermore, most of this constituency will turn right around and demand honesty and sound judgmentfrom their leaders.
Posted by Will at December 31, 2005 12:39 PM in Anthropology