Darwin Day: Fight the Future

TNG Founder Ben submitted this post.

Today is "Darwin Day," a celebration of Charles Darwin's contribution to humanity, namely the theory of evolution by natural selection. On November 24, 1859, his book The Origin of the Species was published. I recently reacquainted myself with Darwin's personal history, and was pleased to find that nearly 150 years later, he still has lessons to teach me.

Darwin was racked with anxiety over the direction his data took him. He feared the reactions his life's work might elicit from God and the public, and he hid his findings for years. Luckily, the rational impulse allowed him to transcend his fears. On his South American journeys, Darwin was forced to bear the politically conservative and racist harangues of his ship's captain and the extensive carnage of European colonialism: slavery, destruction of species for entertainment and personal enrichment, and massive deforestation. The exasperation he experienced when faced with such inflexible conventionalism empowered him to reject ignorance and throw light on the origin of man and his history, forever affirming that despite the consequences,the rational mind is the best means to bring light to the darkness. It's a lesson I don't want to forget.

It's easy to get lazy and assume that hard-won victories for rationality are forever decided battles. I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but the ignorances Darwin witnessed are still with us and they proliferate at every weakness in our defenses. Considering the early polling data, how many of us assumed the forces of reason would prevail over Prop 8? How many defeats of rational thought did this country suffer over the last eight years (of which we now pay the cost)? Considering the decline in educational standards and opportunities synonymous with recession and the public openness to radical ideology that typically accompanies such decline, how many more defeats might we suffer?

Evolution is under attack across the US. Last year, the teaching of evolution was challenged in scores of schools. During the same period, six states introduced (and Louisiana passed) "academic freedom laws" that discredit evolution, smuggle creationist teachings into the classroom, and sabotage state science standards. 2009 doesn't look much better. Oklahoma is first at bat with a strong anti-evolution bill, followed by Mississippi with a bill requiring warning labels on textbooks. Other states that may consider similar legislation in 2009 include Michigan, Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, and South Carolina.

Ignorance is the enemy. Our vigilance is required.