It was about a year ago that Judge Jones handed down his decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover, that intelligent design couldn’t be taught in Dover Area High School. I know this issue brings up confusion, resentment and some very big headaches for a lot of people, so I will try not to defend creationism too much. I just have one thing to say: creationists aren’t idiots.
The one thing that upset me the most last year, when the debate over intelligent design was most heated, was not that I disagreed with the court’s decision. What upset me was the way some local opponents of intelligent design verbally attacked creationists, ridiculed us and portrayed us as idiots because we did not see things the way they saw it. They either attacked creationists’ personalities instead of the arguments for creationism, or they didn’t even deign to discuss the issue, simply dismissing us as insane.
Obviously, creationists really are insane. Whoever can’t see the “mountain of evidence� for evolution or doesn’t understand that evolution is the “foundation of modern biology� must be brainless. But you know what? Creationists are so stupid you don’t need to use evidence to refute them. It’s not like creationists know what evidence is. Why are creationists wrong? Because! And that’s all creationists need to know.
I am offended when people argue against creationism like this. It upsets me to be treated as less than human. Just because some creationists may not know how to defend their beliefs, or because some of the former members of the Dover school board may have been dishonest, doesn’t mean all creationists are the same way. Everyone ought to know that. To argue that way is to commit a logical fallacy. It even has a cool Latin name: ad hominem, which means “to the man.� Someone who ridicules his opponent instead of discussing his opponent’s argument is not arguing rationally.
So to everyone on both sides of the debate: be fair. Get it into your heads that you are not always right. Do not belittle anyone or anyone’s arguments. People (like creationists) have reasons (sometimes very good ones) for their beliefs; maybe if you try to find out what those reasons are, examine them, and think them through, you might more easily refute them. Or your views might be refuted. That’s the danger, but it’s everyone’s responsibility to behave honorably and argue rationally. The hurtful person does not refute his opponent’s argument; he shows himself to be small-minded.
Has anyone in the community spotted any Paramount staff in the area? I'd love to know whether the Dover movie is going to be filmed on location.
What was the actual evidence FOR creationism (beyond "just because I say so") again? Was there ever any presented anywhere?