Dec12

Evolution Should be Taught!

Posted on by
Evolution Should be Taught!

Right now in Florida, a campaign is being started to overturn the proposal that evolution be taught in schools more comprehensively than it has been. In Texas, the director of science curriculum was dismissed, so it seems, for advocating evolution by circulating news of a lecture about evolution through e-mail. Both of these states are hotbeds for anti-evolution forces, and many people who seem to be ignorant not only of science but of Kitzmiller vs. Dover, are ready to jump at any opportunity to push religious education into public schools, even if it’s only Intelligent Design.

In trying to advocate against science and for wild stabs in the dark, most of them actually show why we need more science in public schools, and more evolutionary biology taught, not less. The fact that they can graduate from the public school system and say “It’s only a theory” shows that the schools did not adequately teach them about scientific method or even vocabulary. “There are holes in the fossil record” demonstrates that they have not learned some basic facts about geology and how fossilization occurs. “There are no transitional fossils” shows that they know little about the vast fossil record collected around the world – and should brush up on current events, too, since the discovery of tiktaalik was widely publicized, but was far from the only “transitional” creature ever found. All the arguments they make have been addressed over and over, explained by scientists and teachers, yet they persist. Clearly, a good foundation of scientific understanding was not laid during their public school years, and this must be corrected for current and future generations. Read the rest of this entry →

Dec10

On The Other Hand. . .

Posted on by
On The Other Hand. . .

I had meant to link to this before, but it seems rather apropos to do it now, after the war against greed post. Ezra Klein, writing in the American Prospect, had an interesting piece on Thanksgiving. He subtitled it, “You may not know it, but you want to avoid the upcoming crush of Christmas consumerism. Let Thanksgiving be your guide.” It’s an interesting article about what really makes people happy, and it encourages us to stop thinking about our happiness being enhanced by possessions. Give it a read.

Dec8

War On Greed. . .

Posted on by
War On Greed. . .

A video caught my eye last night on YouTube, and this morning I visited the filmmakers’ site to see what else they had to say. If you go to the “War on Greed: Henry Kravis’ Homes” page, you can see the film, comment on it, and read the 12 pages (so far) of other people’s comments.

It’s interesting, because the subject of one man’s tremendous wealth and how he earns it is going to provoke a pretty strong, knee-jerk reaction in most of us. The film takes it to the next step, which is, naturally, to point out how little he pays in taxes, and then interview people who earn less in a year than this man does in an hour. The film does a pretty good job at evoking an emotional reaction towards the Unfairness Of It All.

Now, this is not to say that I don’t think it’s wrong that there’s such a disparity in this country, or that the economic and legal systems are set up in such a way that the wealthy have extra advantages, but this kind of situation requires thought, not emotion. Once you start thinking about it, you realize that there is so much else going on that all this kind of public exposure does is provoke anger, not solutions. The viewers are prompted to “fight greed” and protest, say what they would do if they lived in one of Kravis’ homes for the holidays, but judging from the comments, it’s pointless effort.

I don’t have time today to go through all 12 pages, but even on the first, I could see that there wouldn’t be a lot of problem-solving going on. Someone who knew Kravis personally told about his generosity – of course people can be generous to the people they see every day while laying off thousands of people in the name of corporate profit. It’s a matter of who is an actual face you see, vs. who is just a name or number. How many of us work in our communities as volunteers, but spend money on a vacation instead of donating it to a charity that helps people far away? How selfish of us! It’s a matter of scale. Another commenter suggested that anyone who was jealous should stop complaining and get a better job. I’m sure nobody ever thought of that before. *sigh* Many folks answered the question of what they would do if they had one of the houses for the holidays, and it was clear that they had no concept – they’d throw parties, they’d sell everything and give the money away, they’d trash the place – not for one moment realizing that they’d then be doing exactly what they abhor in Mr. Kravis, i.e., closing up a corporation, firing all its workers, and taking the cash. The one that gave me a chuckle, though, was the one who’d sell one house and burn the other 7 to the ground, then give the money to the Sierra Club!

When I have a little more time (gotta shower and hit the road in less than an hour. . .) I want to get into this a little more deeply, but I’d love to hear what people think here. If you find a comment at the film’s page particularly interesting, let me know that, too, so I can check it out.