The Denver Post reports that last Thursday mayoral candidates Hancock and Romer were ask if they favor the teaching of Intelligent Design in public school.
Candidate Hancock initially responded affirmatively, that he does support ID in science class, but within hours he was back pedaling, equivocating, explaining away his answer, toeing the party line, groveling, and bowing before the alter of Political Correctness.
Apparently candidate Hancock is not too highly evolved politically.
He remains mired in the primordial ooze of the belief that Darwin is science and Intelligent Design is religion, and that for a politician to assert otherwise is political suicide.
The mayoral candidate has not yet slithered out from the ocean of political pandering, closed the gills and dropped the scales of politics as usual, breathed in the fresh air of the courage of his convictions, grown the appendages of boldness and walked away from the murky waters of political correctness.
Were Hancock more advanced on the evolutionary scale of political thought he could have responded differently.
He could have stuck to his guns; he could have taken the position that his beliefs are firmly rooted in scientific fact.
He could have pointed out that 10 years ago a group of more than 100 scientists with Ph.D.s. From places like Yale, and MIT took out a 2-page advertisement in a national magazine, entitled “A Scientific Dissent from Darwin.”
Or, he could have stated that, like Scientist and Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling, he believes that “Science is the search for truth.” That science and science education should consider all the evidence, follow the facts to wherever they lead, not prejudge, and not reject any conclusion just because it doesn’t line up with the Religion of Darwinism.
Hancock could have quoted the well-respected periodical Science Digest that “Scientists who utterly reject Darwin may be one of our fastest growing minorities.” And that scientists disagreeing with Darwin “hold impressive academic credentials.”
Perhaps it would be going too far, but the candidate could have used the opportunity to remind us that Darwinism has served as an intellectual justification for racism, and was used by some as a philosophical basis in support of Nazi atrocity. That Darwinists themselves exhibit a religious zeal in the defense of their beliefs rarely found outside of backwoods snake handlers, some TV preachers, or Jihadist indoctrination camps.
Hancock could have pointed out that, based on recent discoveries in Microbiology, Paleontology, Chemistry and other fields, school boards in other states have authorized consideration of Intelligent Design as a viable alternate theory to Darwinian Evolution.
In Texas public educators have evolved their science curriculum to embrace open inquiry, examination of evidence, and freedom for students to draw conclusions without censoring the theory of Intelligent Design.
Should Colorado be less evolved in the realm of open-mindedness and academic freedom than Texas, a state where line dancing and mechanical bull riding were spawned?
In fairness to Mr. Hancock evolution takes time.
Consider the eons required for the jellyfish to become the tree frog, the dung beetle, the house cat, the anaconda, the shrew, the giraffe, the Ibex, the Water Buffalo, and the Chimpanzee, let alone you and I.
Then too, as they are with most things, politicians are undoubtedly behind the curve when it comes to evolutionary advancement.
Still, how refreshing would it be to hear a candidate boldly come out and say “I believe that Intelligent Design is a theory with scientific support, I believe public schools should pursue open inquiry, encourage open mindedness, academic freedom, avoid censorship of the unpopular, and let science do what it is supposed to do-seek truth.”
I know it seems farfetched that a politician would be so forthright, open and honest, but talk about your farfetched; famed Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins thinks life may have originated on Earth as the result of space aliens seeding the planet with spores.
No kidding, alien spores.
It could happen.
Aliens could have sprinkled spores.
Politicians could change.
That would be some real evolution.
Philip Bovee lives in Fort Collins. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
