Then right after I committed to a cool old house in the Midtown area, after a lifetime of moving every couple of years, the area I moved to decided to beat the light of science into submission with a bible. Every couple of years the Kansas State School Board attacks science, calling evolution a "fairy tale" that is "utterly impossible and quite frankly a stupid sinful notion." The local populace doesn't even know that science and the common vernacular hold different meanings of the word "theory." Today's Kansas City Star published the following comment in Voices on the editorial page:
"I wish to take issue with the article " 'Anti-science' label may repel
Scientists" (10/9, A-1) Ben Holt, an "up and coming biologist" stated that
evolution is a "fact" and that is why people might not want to come to Kansas
because we want to display Intelligent Design in our schools as an option.
Evolution is not a fact. It is a theory. And we need to get that
straight." Jan Langley, Kansas City
Jan Langley, you are ignorant of the facts, ignorant of vocabulary, and scientifically illiterate. In the world of science, a "Theory" has been subjected to rigorous peer review and duplicable experimentation. In the common vernacular, a theory is just a stab at an educated guess, not even meeting the definition of a hypothesis in scientific standards.
And on the Missouri side of the line, last year the Missouri legislature threatened to criminalize science, and got the Stowers folks so up in arms that they threatened to not build a second multi-million dollar research campus in the Kansas City area. The state Republicans backed off, and now we have the backlash among the citizenry. A petition drive is underway to get a refferendum on the November 2006 ballot to protect the scientific community from zealotous persecution by the forces of ignorance. Supporters of the amendment must gather at least 139,181 petition signatures from voters to get the measure on the November 2006 ballot. Anti-abortion groups want to "criminalize some of the most promising types of stem cell research," coalition chairman Donn Rubin said. If you are a registered voter in the state of Missouri, find out where you can find a copy of the petition in your area, and sign it.
Let us hope that the organizers gather the required signatures, and that we can successfully educate the public about this vital issue. I don't want to move to one of the coasts, but I will if I have to in order to practice science as I see fit and in accordance with the ethics and guidelines of the profession.
