On May 21st, I wrote an item on this blog titled “Sorry, kids, but you’re just too stupid” (go here), which described one rationale by Darwinists to exclude the teaching of intelligent design in the public schools, namely, kids are too stupid to understand the issues raised by evolutionary theory so that bringing up intelligent design will only confuse them further. I find this argument outrageous because (1) evolution, with regard to its basic mechanisms, is not rocket science — it is readily grasped; (2) kids rise to the occasion when they are challenged– the problem with so much of contemporary education is that it is dummied down and boring.
Listening to NPR this morning while going through a car wash, I heard Eugenie Scott extend this exclusionary argument, urging real scientists not to debate the merits of intelligent design in public because most Americans are “naive.” Yes, her choice of word exactly — “naive.” You naive, stupid Americans! Let us enlightened intellectual bigots lead you by the nose for your own good. And, just remember, if you persist in disbelieving evolution, Daniel Dennett has his cultural zoos in place ready to quarantine you.