A couple of years ago, the Tennessee Legislature was taken over by Republicans, who were swept into office by voters united by the bad economy, the Tea Party, and a shared hatred of Barrack Obama. The politicians promised that jobs and the economy would be their number one priority. Then, they got busy pushing an agenda that no one asked for, including radical gun laws adopted verbatim from NRA templates, anti-gay and anti-Teacher’s Union legislation, and voter suppression laws. Lately, they’ve been concentrating on really important issues, like making sure teenagers don’t wear saggy pants, forcing teachers to teach abstinence-only sex education, and allowing gun enthusiasts to bring their weapons to work.
Now they have just passed a bill that will allow teachers to discuss alternatives to the theory of evolution, which is a Trojan Horse to allow backers of creationism to teach children biblical myths. We’re still living down the memory of the Scopes Monkey Trial, and now this has made us a laughingstock once again.
Cut to the board room of a major Bio-engineering firm that is deciding where to locate their new billion dollar factory. The CEO says, “Well, we’ve narrowed it down to Tennessee and Georgia. I like Tennessee, the people there are really friendly and there is a good business climate.” Another executive speaks up: “Yes, but Tennessee law allows them to teach creationism in their science classes. I’m afraid that their workforce will be too uneducated to understand our processes.”
Governor Bill Haslam
Our governor, Bill Haslam, was urged by science groups, business groups, and thousands of people who care about our state to veto the “creationism bill,” but he declined to do so. And this week, he pointedly criticized the news media for covering what he called “the craziest political issues.” Talk about shooting the messenger. If the legislature is going to keep proposing stupid laws, then the news media has an obligation to point out just how stupid they are, and I’m happy that they are doing it.
Even if it does make Tennesseans look like a bunch of hicks.
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Comments
At least Georgia has a separate set of lunatics to rule.
Does not make them any more sane, however...
Your pictures are hilarious!
Maybe you need to take a trip north? It's slightly less crazy here, although everyone thinks everyone in Minnesota is either Scandinavian or speaks with a pronounced "Fargo" accent while ice fishing.
there are those who believe we came from a lower life form and those who believe an almighty created us.
the author apparently wants to believe there is no room for opposing views.
as to his analogy about a hi-tech company wanting to move to Tenn and this preventing them from doing so. belive me they are only looking for the best tax abatement and if they need einsteins they will bring them with them.
personally i would rather see the melungins working on the assembly line at volkswagen knocking down $16.00 per hour plus benefits
So I wouldn't worry about the negative side effects of a law that just tries to protect teachers if they want to allow some balance or freedom of speech and thought in the classroom. For every person that sees it as a sign that your state is backwards there will probably be some one like me who is more impressed with a state that has people willing to stand up against something they don't believe in. And don't forget, if evolution is such a clear cut, slam-dunk case, what's to fear? The teacher will ask "does anyone want to discuss alternate theories?" and you'll just get chuckles, right? Because it's as obvious as our earth is round?
There are plenty of intelligent people that have lots of problems with evolutionary theory, and it takes courage to express them.
What poll was that you were referring to? LOL
Where else do you get a culture of near total backwardness, blind religious faith and latent race hatred on one hand; and people like Mark Twain, Wm. Faulkner, Harper Lee, Tennessee Williams, Barbara Kingsolver, Ann Rice, Katherine Ann Porter and dozens of other prolific (and famous) writers on the other.
"The South" is an subject about which many gifted artists had found fertile ground and will continue writing about for years to come. It is the ultimate American paradox, IMHO.
But I do love the reaction of your governor: At some level these right wingers realize they are backward and a little bit "crazy" but they just can't help themselves and resent anyone who holds a mirror to them, which is why they tend to hang out in packs and congregate around the radio when Rush Limbaugh is on or keep the TV channel permanently tuned to Fox.
I am still consistently amazed at the judgments some of our leaders/legislators make against science then in their next breath defend creationism. Makes one wonder if they were ever educated in the scientific method during their school years.
Might be an interesting comparison to make with the survey you mentioned.
Your local officials are right to fight the dangers of this science stuff! No good has ever come fron science! It must be stopped!
The 'other viewpoints' argument just depresses me. Science is not religion. It is not based on a belief system. It's a system for categorizing and codifying things. If you want your kid exposed to 'other viewpoints,' you can certainly feed them the line that Satan just put them there dinosaurs there to fool everyone. But, do it at home. Sigh.
H. L. Mencken
Unless, as I said earlier, you're all about your kids learning about other creation myths, too. In a class called "Creation Myths." I think Scientology Day, when we learn about Xenu and how he came to Earth long ago, will be an interesting day.
Creationism is not an alternate to science. It is something else entirely divorced from science. It's called religion. Perhaps you've heard of it ...
Speaking of plums, those at the top of the food chain may get a real education at UT or Vanderbilt or elsewhere, but those at or near the bottom -- and increasingly those in the middle -- get -- well, trickled on. Those at the top of the food chain are happy to see the rest remain poor and ignorant -- it makes it easier to get elected.
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