Perry de Havilland discusses the real issue in the creation-evolution wars, that never gets discussed, because it's taken as a given that the government will fund education:

I have no problem with people believing whatever wacko things they want (and for me that includes all religion), but the evolution vs. creationism debate should be a non political one and the only way that can ever be true is when the state is no longer involved in education.

I think creationism is nuts and it makes me think less of Ron Paul that he has a religious objection to the theory of evolution. But frankly this should not be a matter for political concern and he at least is highly unlikely to force state schools to teach it (or anything else for that matter). The fact that it is a political matter shows something it very wrong and the correct 'something' that needs debating is not evolution, it is state schooling. Return all schooling to the private sector and the whole issue goes away from the political sphere. Let the market decide if there is demand for schools that teach creationism, I have no problem with that at all.

Nor do I.

I religiously read your blog, but I disagree totally with this. It is a complete abdication of responsibility. How could Newton have stood on the shoulders of giants if it was OK with everybody to have schools teach whatever nonsensical fad happened to sweep by? We have a responsibility to organize and prioritize the knowledge that we have accumulated and pass it on to the next generation to avoid having our world dissolve into a giant "Lord of the Flies".

It's the government schools that are teaching "whatever nonsensical fads pass by," via the schools of "education" that use our students as guinea pigs for their own nonsense du jour, compared with which creationism is a model of rationality. Parents who want their children to succeed in the world will do a lot better job of seeing that their schools teach what needs to be taught than the government will. There are a lot worse things to believe than creationism (e.g., collectivism).

"Support the Separation of School and State"
Would be a good bumper sticker slogan.

To bad that's all it's going to remain. The government education complex surpassed the military industrial one a long time ago in terms of political power. Changing it is a politically impossible dream, unless and until the teachers unions are busted or folks en mass demand that their kids be removed from it. Either doesn't seem very likely.

Some Guy:

I was sent to a private school from 5th to 9th grade due to the usual reasons. If I hadn't, I'd be either in jail or working as a low paid mechanic someplace. The private school was more "down to earth" and practical, and the discipline and concern for the student's character were far superior to any public school I ever been associated with. As Rand says, the "wacky stuff" all came out of the public schools. When people have to pay their own money for education, they expect to get their money's worth, not have their kids indoctrinated into the culture de jour.

We have a responsibility to organize and prioritize the knowledge

And you have no problem with having those priorities set by, not just your garden-variety politician, but the worst kind of politician -- the bureaucrat?

On the one hand, ordinary parents with ambitions for their kids would support private schools that offer the best learning environment.

But ideologically driven parents will seek to insulate their kids and indoctrinate them to ensure the propogation of an otherwise unsuccessful culture. After all, what do you think goes on in the radical madrassas?

I suppose it's a measure of the underlying and currently somewhat unknown strength of our culture whether this increased choice will lead to a fragmentation into seperate mutually hostile subcultures.

> How could Newton have stood on the shoulders of giants if it was OK with everybody to have schools teach whatever nonsensical fad happened to sweep by?

Remind me - how much of Newton's education was govt funded (as opposed to religion funded)?

Also, don't confuse the edited version of Newton with the reality. Newton's laws and calculus were basically a footnote. He worked far more on religous screeds.

Americans are lousy at instilling madrassa values. There were 600,000 students in Christian schools in the US in 1994 (inferred from this source and very likely a conservative estimate), all of whom are adults by now. How many have become assassins or suicide bombers?

The answer, of course, is zero. It would be even more instructive to do a longitudinal study of those 600k with an equal number of public-school inmates, er, pupils, to see how much criminality each group produced.

Having said that, I'm not altogether sure that there are no implications for a population whose plurality religion (which I share) is predominantly antievolution (a particular belief I don't share). You want that bird flu vaccine or not?

Also, don't confuse the edited version of Newton with the reality. Newton's laws and calculus were basically a footnote. He worked far more on religous screeds.

Also on alchemy.

There is a theory that one should not care if he's a creationist, as long as he lowers your taxes and fiscal deficit. He probably also strongly agrees that religion isn't an executive matter.