A little ID history

A little ID history

EDITOR:

Your May 22 guest editorial, “Evolution must be taught,” from The Washington Post, about Ben Stein’s movie “Expelled,” made me Google a religious and hard right paper trail, 1971-99. The film promotes “intelligent design” (ID), a movement to end run a 1987 high court ban on creationism in the schools. ID began with a 1991 anti-Darwin book by Phillip Johnson, a law professor in southern California, seedbed of creationist groups from the 1930s to Tim LaHaye’s CSRC. Discovery Institute, a think tank run by former Reagan officials, sponsors ID. The ’90s saw conferences at SMU and by D. James Kennedy, and books by William Dembski and Michael Behe. The. Rev. Moon financed degrees for some ID scholars.

A 1999 memo of the Institute was leaked as “The Wedge Document.” If a boulder blocks your way, find cracks in it and apply wedge and sledgehammer. ID’s “teach the controversy” strategy claims many scientists doubt evolution. (No.) The Wedge aims to split science from its naturalistic basis, make room for an intelligent cause of life, and pry minds open to this. It avoids religious talk but seeks to “destroy materialistic” science. California’s superintendent of education declared creationism equal with evolution — as both are theories — and Louisiana legislated equal time for them in its schools. Most Americans polled see teaching both evolution and creationism as fair play.

But ID and evolution aren’t equals. Most scientists call evolution the most factual and coherent explanation of life ever. As to fair play, evolution’s American playing field has never been as level as Europe’s. When Darwin’s book hit the US in 1859, we were distracted by the passions leading to, during and following the Civil War.

Postwar, evangelist D. L. Moody and the Niagara Bible Conferences spread what was later called fundamentalism, whose preachers’ caricature of evolution was that most Americans know best. The Scopes “monkey trial” scared textbook publishers and school boards into downplaying Darwin. When an evolution-based science education program corrected that cowardice to win the space race, numberless parents were offended and put their kids in “segregation academies” or home schooled. There’s a lack of good will all around in cooling the fires this fanned.

CHARLES L. REID

Boardman

Liberty trustees, be careful

EDITOR:

As a resident of Liberty for more than 50 years who also attends most of the township meetings, I was surprised to learn the trustees asked Chief Tony Slifka to step down or be fired.

I completely agree that the chief should have come up with some answers regarding the missing funds at the township post office and the investigation into an officer who used GPS to track his girlfriend and is still on paid leave. However, since the trustees have hired Kent State University Trumbull Branch’s Public Safety Training and Research Center to review circumstances regarding the Mary Rush incident, why not wait for their report?

The trustees must also share the responsibility. Was the chief ever given time limits for answers? Was the chief ever reprimanded? My intent is not to defend Chief Tony Slifka, but to save our tax dollars.

Chief Slifka has an employee agreement with the Liberty Township Board of Trustees which permit the trustees or the chief to terminate the agreement without cause. Should the trustees decide to terminate the agreement, it requires a costly severance allowance. Why not give the chief a 90 day notice that the trustees will not renew his contract and save a lot of time and money?

The trustees should reconsider firing the chief. It is mostly the trustees’ fault that this was allowed to happen.

LOU PIZZUTO

Liberty Township