Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog has had a few posts on this topic (as well as several others that are related in a rather disturbing trend): http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/b...religious-bill-of-rights-killed-in-committee/
It's as telling as it is worrying that reps unilaterally stand behind such an obvious move to try and push the US into a religious-inspired dark age of ignorance. The republican party is playing with fire and jeopardizing the country's future when it encourages this kind of idiocy.
I'm overexaggerating and using hyperbole, you say? Perhaps, but I don't think so. Check out what this bill of theirs actually says. Teachers should not be forced to teach anything that goes against their personal beliefs, according to this bill. That one thing alone should raise alarms in every rational person, and there's a lot more where this one came from.
As a person who is old enough to remember a time when knowledge and science was still the most revered thing in America - and not a politician's (mostly lipservice) professions of his or her religious beliefs - I feel very dismayed by all of this. I mean, it's not coincidence that the expression 'rocket scientist' came to hold the meaning it once had. It was quite literally the embodiment of the most advanced, cutting-edge activity mankind ever embarked on, and America was leading that race. ...And then it all got lost, through bumbling and blunders, and lack of vision, and these days apathy and lack of interest in higher education in many youths (who instead dream of becoming media celebrities and rock stars), and a dark, rising wave of religious fundamentalism and a general anti-scientific movement. Cue increase in antivaxxers, creationists, HIV deniers and so on.
Had this bill actually gone through it wouldn't have become binding law, but undoubtedly that would have been the next logical step. And then what? The consequences would have been that any religion would have risen above all human knowledge, wisdom, written history, logic - everything. Not teach anything about the big bang in physics class because teacher believes the earth was created 6000 years ago - well that's just fine, from a legal standpoint. But where would it leave the students?
While I think it's safe to say most Colorado schools would probably not hire teachers who have objections that go against the actual job they're hired to perform, some schools would rather take this to heart, and market it towards a certain aspect of society. And it wouldn't be towards Discordianists, followers of IPU (BBHHH), the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Satanists or even Judaism, Sikhism or Islam. Of course this is a bill written by - and pretty much exclusively intended for - christian fundies.
So when these kids, indoctrinated in creationist dogma - graduate and start migrating out into general society and so on...where does that leave America as a country? The rest of the world isn't buying and eagerly gulping down this kind of crap like it was mom's wholesome apple pie - well, except Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and a few others. From where will the next big scientific breakthroughs come when american kids simply aren't taught anything that goes against christian dogma? And why is the republican party digging themselves so deep down into this counter-movement to reason and logic?
That's what I'd like to know...
It's as telling as it is worrying that reps unilaterally stand behind such an obvious move to try and push the US into a religious-inspired dark age of ignorance. The republican party is playing with fire and jeopardizing the country's future when it encourages this kind of idiocy.
I'm overexaggerating and using hyperbole, you say? Perhaps, but I don't think so. Check out what this bill of theirs actually says. Teachers should not be forced to teach anything that goes against their personal beliefs, according to this bill. That one thing alone should raise alarms in every rational person, and there's a lot more where this one came from.
As a person who is old enough to remember a time when knowledge and science was still the most revered thing in America - and not a politician's (mostly lipservice) professions of his or her religious beliefs - I feel very dismayed by all of this. I mean, it's not coincidence that the expression 'rocket scientist' came to hold the meaning it once had. It was quite literally the embodiment of the most advanced, cutting-edge activity mankind ever embarked on, and America was leading that race. ...And then it all got lost, through bumbling and blunders, and lack of vision, and these days apathy and lack of interest in higher education in many youths (who instead dream of becoming media celebrities and rock stars), and a dark, rising wave of religious fundamentalism and a general anti-scientific movement. Cue increase in antivaxxers, creationists, HIV deniers and so on.
Had this bill actually gone through it wouldn't have become binding law, but undoubtedly that would have been the next logical step. And then what? The consequences would have been that any religion would have risen above all human knowledge, wisdom, written history, logic - everything. Not teach anything about the big bang in physics class because teacher believes the earth was created 6000 years ago - well that's just fine, from a legal standpoint. But where would it leave the students?
While I think it's safe to say most Colorado schools would probably not hire teachers who have objections that go against the actual job they're hired to perform, some schools would rather take this to heart, and market it towards a certain aspect of society. And it wouldn't be towards Discordianists, followers of IPU (BBHHH), the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Satanists or even Judaism, Sikhism or Islam. Of course this is a bill written by - and pretty much exclusively intended for - christian fundies.
So when these kids, indoctrinated in creationist dogma - graduate and start migrating out into general society and so on...where does that leave America as a country? The rest of the world isn't buying and eagerly gulping down this kind of crap like it was mom's wholesome apple pie - well, except Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and a few others. From where will the next big scientific breakthroughs come when american kids simply aren't taught anything that goes against christian dogma? And why is the republican party digging themselves so deep down into this counter-movement to reason and logic?
That's what I'd like to know...
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