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To: dmz

You state, as though it were fact, that teaching evolution in science class in a public school destroys the political, cultural, and religious belief systems of some of the students ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I did NOT say that. You are creating your own strawman and then arguing against it.

I said that the teaching of evolution will have political, cultural, and religious consequences. The government WILL establish and uphold the worldview of some ( with political, cultural, and religious consequences) while actively undermining the worldview of others ( with political, cultural, and religious consequences).

Whether the religious or non-religious beliefs are "destroyed" ( your word not mine),undermined, or established would depend on the particular child and his unique circumstances. The government IS establishing the worldview of some while undermining that of others. Whether it succeeds in doing this or not depends on the particular child.

Were you exposed to evolution at any point during your education?

I have a doctorate in a highly respected and very academically competitive health profession. My education matches that of a physician both on the undergraduate and graduate levels.

I graduated from high school in the mid-60s. There was no discussion of evolution in high school. On the college level little attention was paid to it since it was far more important to understand the biochemical metabolic pathways, phyla, flora, and clasifications involved in biology. Even in the courses of histology (the study of tissues), pathology ( diseases tissues, biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, genetics, embryology, physiology, anatomy, pharmacology,,,,,very little attention was paid to evolution.

Why? Because it really doesn't have much to do with the practice of medicine and curing disease. In fact, except for a tiny number of highly specialized scientists, evolution has little to do with the day to day study and research involved in the health sciences.

I was not a biology major. My program required that I take the major's level courses in general and organic chemistry, physics, biology, and math through Calculus III and deferential equations. After that we could chose those sciences that interested us provided they were course for those in that major. If I had not been accepted to a health professional school in the field I now practice, my goal was to become a bio-engineer.

By the way,,,my husband is a Ph.D. biochemist. His undergraduate degree is the same as mine. His graduate work NEVER ( not even once) covered or had anything to do with evolution. He spent his adult life working in this profession and never ( not even once) had any reason to even give a minute's thought to evolution.

If this is the case for my husband and me, then evolution is even less important for the masses. It does NOT justify threatening children with police action if they refuse to participate or associate with those who do. Evolution does not justify threatening citizens with the sheriff's sale of their home or business if they refuse to fund it.

Remember, please, that this is what government is about. It is about using the threat of police force to make people behave a certain way. This threat of force must be used in a very limited manner if we are to remain a free people. Evolution does NOT rise to that level of importance in the lives of all but a tiny minority of scientists to justify the threat of police force.

Government schools are compulsory for many. The funding of them is compulsory also. Government schools can NOT be politically, culturally or religious neutral in content and or consequences. Evolution is merely one of HUNDREDS of issues.

The solution is to begin the process of privatizing universal K-12 education. Parents, teachers, and principals should be deciding how the origins of man are presented to children. It must be done privately, by mutual consent, in private settings.

398 posted on 04/19/2006 4:14:52 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: wintertime
...and math through Calculus III and deferential equations.

Were you properly respectful towards these deferential equations, then?

Sadly, the spellchecker can't always save you from yourself :-/

399 posted on 04/19/2006 4:24:42 PM PDT by Senator Bedfellow
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To: wintertime
I have a doctorate in a highly respected and very academically competitive health profession.

Oh god, not another chiropractor.

444 posted on 04/19/2006 7:42:08 PM PDT by Right Wing Professor
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To: wintertime
In your long post, are you contending that the theory of evolution is incorrect?

If so, can you be specific?

464 posted on 04/19/2006 8:20:30 PM PDT by Coyoteman (Interim tagline: The UN 1967 Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: wintertime
I wrote to you: You state, as though it were fact, that teaching evolution in science class in a public school destroys the political, cultural, and religious belief systems of some of the students

You replied: I did NOT say that. You are creating your own strawman and then arguing against it.

_____________

Really? I quote you here:

"There is NO way that the government school can approach the topic of the origins of mankind without ESTABLISHING the worldview of some ( with political, cultural, and religious consequences) without actively working against and deliberately destroying the political, cultural, and religious belief systems of others."

The bolding is my addition to your post 14 in this thread.

You used the word "destroy" and now you are trying to disavow its use, even denying that you used it at all. It's a shame that you will not even own up to your own words. It makes it challenging to address your other points, the upshot of which seems to be your distaste for paying taxes.

624 posted on 04/21/2006 5:55:19 AM PDT by dmz
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