Creationists with a Political Thesaurus
Creationists with a Political Thesaurus
When listening to the claims of creationists on the Texas State Board of Education, a political thesaurus would be helpful. The board’s far-right bloc has asked the people of Texas to have a little faith. Its members are not, they claim, interested in having public school science classes teach students about creationism, “intelligent design” or any other religious concepts. At a November 19 hearing on proposed public school science curriculum standards, Chairman Don McLeroy, R-Bryan, proclaimed that he didn’t know of any board members who want science classes to do so. McLeroy and fellow creationists on the board say they’re interested only in exposing students to “scientific weaknesses of the theory of evolution.”
But that’s not what they’ve said in voter guides from the Free Market Foundation (the Texas affiliate of the far-right pressure group Focus on the Family) and, in some cases, when they were running for office.
Bottom line: An “intelligent design” supporter today is a creationist with a thesaurus. And a backer of “weaknesses of evolution” is an “intelligent design” supporter who has read the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision. Same motives. Same end game. Same politicians who “Strongly Favor.”
It’s hard, then, to take the McLeroy bloc seriously when its members raise their hands and pledge that they just want to make sure students get all the facts about evolution. Who do they think they’re fooling? The reality is that they are trying to dumb down our schoolchildren’s science curriculum in an effort to promote their own personal and ideological agendas. Don’t let them get away with it.