The Untidiness of Thinking

So, in the interests of better educating the children, Georgia’s state superintendent of schools, Kathy Cox, proposed deleting the word “evolution” from the science curriculum. Obviously, this is an excellent idea that avoids unkempt discussions or uncomfortable questions about how Earth and its life forms evolved, er, developed over many millenniums. If you’re elected like Cox, your political sense has evolved, er, developed through time and elections wherein only the fittest survive. As a result, her thinking quickly evolved too. So Cox now has deleted her deletion proposal. Evolution is inspiring.

A sincere belief is one thing. Honest teaching is another. Public education in a diverse democracy should reflect the concerns and needs of a varied society. Otherwise, we’d still burn witches and drive horses to town. Ah, but fears are something else. If a sector’s beliefs in a sacred Creation are so fragile they cannot bear the weight of class discussions, then perhaps, sadly, they’re en route to the same extinction as dinosaurs and Studebakers. Many can perceive both a divine spirit and a miraculous evolution, er, species development, in history.

Cox’s monkey business is prehistoric. She says science teachers wouldn’t have been forbidden to teach evolution, er, “biological changes over time.” Right. Teachers too can foresee political storms if they stray beyond an “official curriculum” to teach what a vocal local few don’t want to hear.

While we’re discussing deleting stuff like evolution, let’s grow the list. That’s what happens with censorship. Take the Confederacy? Please. Why not remove that unwelcome word with its unsavory economic rationale for suppressing a race and killing a half-million Civil War troops. Just teach about fighting. Combat’s more exciting than reasoning anyway. Also tobacco, peanuts and onions. Even thinking of them causes bad memories, allergic reactions and gas. Just study flax. It’s safe. Every geography book teaches flax. Who could object? Nobody knows what flax is for anyway.

Banning ideas and study worked so well during the Dark Ages that societies were able to repeat many tragedies and stupidities with little effort. It’s a shame to miss another fight over evolution. But we hope Cox’s thinking continues to evolve with her peers’ and recognizes the enduring brain power forged from examining, not indoctrinating. After all, without evolution, the Atlanta Braves would still be playing in Boston or Milwaukee.