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Saturday, February 16, 2008

American Idiocy
Posted by Jill | 9:09 AM
No wonder we're falling behind the rest of the developed -- and much of the developing world -- in terms of science and technology. It's because of how successful the Christofascist Zombie Brigade has been in dumbing-down its Bible-thumping minions, and getting their Doctrine of Willful Ignorance into schools and public life:

Florida parents don't have much faith in evolution.

Only 22 percent want public schools to teach an evolution-only curriculum, while 50 percent want only faith-based theories such as creationism or intelligent design, according to a new St. Petersburg Times survey.

"I have a very firm religious background," said Betty Lininger of Lecanto, who is raising her 15-year-old niece and thinks public schools should teach intelligent design but not evolution. "I can't just shove it out the door."

The survey findings stand in stark contrast to the state's proposed new science standards, which describe evolution as the pillar of modern biology and do not include alternative theories.

If the state Board of Education approves them Tuesday, the new standards will guide what Florida students are taught and tested on.

The Times survey - which included questions about evolution and a host of other education issues - was administered to 702 registered voters Feb. 6-10, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

It revealed a huge gulf between scientists and the public.

While the vast majority of scientists consider evolution to be backed by strong evidence, nearly two-thirds of those polled were skeptical.

Twenty-nine percent said evolution is one of several valid theories. Another 16 percent said evolution is not backed up by enough evidence. And 19 percent said evolution is not valid because it is at odds with the Bible.

"It just shows we have a lot of work to do," said Christopher D'Elia, a marine biologist who is an interim vice chancellor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

Fundamentalist Christians, often portrayed as the heart of the antievolution opposition, weren't the only ones who expressed doubt. While only 9 percent of respondents who described themselves as evangelicals or fundamentalists wanted an evolution-only curriculum, the numbers still weren't very high for Protestants overall 16 percent or Catholics (21 percent).

Sue Sams of Spring Hill, a retired English teacher who describes herself as Protestant, said schools should teach creationism only.

"I don't disagree with the theory of evolution," said Sams, 65. "I'm just not sure it's 100 percent right."


So 100% certain is now the benchmark for scientific inquiry? But creationism is -- because Sue Sams "knows" that some big white alpha male who lives in the sky and maniuplates individual people's lives like a chess player created the world in six days? And this is demonstrable --- how?

Would someone please explain to me how that makes any sense whatsoever?

(Cue our Florida readers to weigh in. Skywind, I'm talking to you. Vent away!)

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4 Comments:
Blogger adam k. said...
Well I live in FL, and I while I knew we were screwed up (hello 2000), I had no idea there were numbers like this regarding people's belief in evolution. I don't feel like I know any of these people. But maybe I DO and I just don't realize they feel the way they do? That's frightening.

Whatever, this just makes me even more determined to leave for NYC in a few years.
2/16/08, 10:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I'd be interested to know what voting machines the Floridians used. We KNOW they can't use punch cards correctly. And last I heard they were still using the touch screens that didn't show the entire ballot...
It's times like this that I'm glad to live in a state like Connecticut that tends to value education, although we don't want to pay for it -- even if we did manage to somehow elect Mr Lieberman!!!
2/16/08, 1:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
bullshit
Aimed at me? I can't tell.

I sympathize; I have only one person, a brother-in-law who lives two thousand miles away, with whom I usefully discuss politcs. No one else in my Real Life seems to occupy the same space of engagement and information overload that I do. (Though I can tell you that the non-citizen foreign nationals I work with seem far better informed than most of the American citizens I know.)

Bush and Cheney are unabashed fascists; we must not say so, though the great sea flashes and yearns, and we ourselves flash and yearn.

But.
What we should want to do is to change the voting behavior of people like your friend, people like my Mom, who cannot see what we see. We will never influence them by calling the politicians that they have supported insulting names.

Believe me, I've tried. I've called Bush a deserter (which he is) and delusory (which he is). I've called Reagan a fool (which he was). I've called Nixon a paranoid and a megalomaniac (which he was).

None of these strategies seemed to convince my audience. I note that I seldom find "Hitlary Clinton" or "Barack Osama"
very convincing.

The conclusion is left as an exercise for the student.
2/17/08, 2:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Sorry I'm late to the party, it's been a busy weekend. As a parent, in Florida, this depresses me no end. I'm astounded at the number of people who are so disgracefully uninformed about basic science that they don't care that the fundie nutjobs (who are clearly a small minority) are pushing their agenda on our public schools. I'm glad I'm a card-carrying member of the Florida ACLU, which is watching this issue closely and preparing to file suit if the state Board of Ed caves to the pressure to water down science teaching with this nonsense. Hopefully the Board of Ed will do the right thing despite uninformed public opinion. Then I can go back to worrying about the fact that, in two years, my son will be at a school where the HEAD of the science department is a creationist. Yes, I said the HEAD of the science department. We have a long way to go...
2/18/08, 11:09 AM  
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