good writing returns to West Wing

It's about time. They had some nice tidbits this week with regard to "intelligent design". It wasn't done angrily, it was done thoughtfully, which I thought was a nice approach.

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"Do you believe that the theory of intelligent design and the theory of evolution should be taught alongside each other in public schools?"

"Absolutely not. One is based on science, one is based on faith. Intelligent design is not a scientific theory, it's a religious belief. And our constitution does not allow for the teaching of religion in our public schools."

"Many of us here would be more comfortable if our children were taught all points of view."

"And I'm all for that. Evolution is not perfect, it doesn't answer every question, but it is based on scientific facts. Facts that can be predicted, tested and proven. Intelligent design asks theological questions. I'm sure that many of us would agree that at the beginning of all that begatting, something begun. What was that something?"

"Congressman, many of us want a version of science taught to our kids that is in accordance with our beliefs."

"I understand. But can't we agree that the inclusion of non-scientific explainations into the science curriculums of our schools misrepresents the nature of science? And therefore compromises the central purpose in our public education; which is the preparation of a scientifically literate workforce."

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"Was the universe designed by God? That's up to everyone in this country to decide for themselves, because the framers of our Constitution believed that if the people were to be soverign and belong to different religions at the same time, then our official religion would have to be *no religion at all*. It was a bold experiment then, as it is now. It wasn't meant to make us comfortable. It was meant to make us free."

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That's some good stuff. I wish I could get more people to read and think about those words.

Barring that, I'd like to take people who want to teach intelligent design and beat them to death with their own bibles. Because I'm not always as thoughtful as the West Wing.