As Darwin’s 200th birthday approaches, the 1960 classic Inherit the Wind—featuring a teacher charged with the crime of explaining evolution—will likely be shown in many classrooms. At the time of its release, the movie was celebrated as an eloquent protest against attacks on freedom of thought.
But if the film were reproduced to reflect today’s events, there’d have to be a role reversal. This time the person sitting in the prosecution box would be an educator who dared to challenge any part of Darwin’s theory.
Reports are regularly surfacing of well-respected professors and scientists being ostracized, denied tenure and even fired for daring to openly conjecture that there might be evidence of design in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance.
Just to name a few victims in recent years—there’s the astrobiologist who published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers, and yet was denied tenure at Iowa State University after highlighting evidence of design; the biologist at George Mason University in Virginia who lost a teaching contract after delivering a lecture on the topic; and the high school biology teacher in Washington who was reassigned to earth science after daring to present both sides of the debate.
Those leading our public education systems constantly proclaim their love of diversity, tolerance and academic freedom. But actions speak louder than words.
And these actions also beg the question—what are they really afraid of?
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