Happy Birthday, John T. Scopes

This is John T. Scopes of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. He was born on this date in 1900. At the age of 25, he had the courage to stand trial rather than give in to pressure. He taught high school students evolution and was fined for telling the children the truth about science. His case was later overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court, but the legal niceties represented only the beginning of this tale.

Today, science continues to come under attack. Our President has recently said that he favors the teaching of Intelligent Design so that children can be exposed to another side of the story. Forget for the moment that this "alternative narrative" has no basis in scientific method or fact. Even right wing conservative-psycho-wack-job Charles Krauthammer says that teaching faith as science is wrong.

People like John Scopes knew that science could bring us closer to finding truth, especially about who we are and where we come from. To offer "intelligent design" as part of a science curriculum basically undermines all of science. "We don't need empirical proof! We don't need objective evidence! It's all too complicated to have happened without the deity's guiding hand, despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence of such hand. So why bother with trying to cure MS or cancer or AIDS. Let's just leave it up to that all-powerful whatever, right?"

John T. Scopes knew better. Happy birthday Mr. Scopes.