Ann Althouse drives a stake – perhaps accidentally – through the heart of Christian public school apologists:
What a powerful district court opinion! It will remain unreviewed, the final word at the end of a cautionary tale for all school boards who contemplate adopting Intelligent Design in the future…..
If there is any controversy at all — and could there not be? — opponents will bring up the Dover case and make much of the fact that a federal judge has equated Intelligent Design with religion. It simply won’t be possible to adopt Intelligent Design without talking a lot about religion now. The next school board may be “smarter” about what it needs to do to achieve its end, but if it’s that smart, it should also perceive the world of trouble that lies ahead. If the judge’s decision doesn’t faze them, the political losses of the school board that voted yes certainly should. Proponents of teaching Intelligent Design in science classes will have a hard time admitting it, but this one district court opinion just killed their movement.
Now, I am no champion of ID, but I am a champion of an absolute parental right to dictate the content of their children’s educations. The Pennsylvania court has made it clear that the public propaganda system will brook no challenge to its Officially Approved Views, even by those who are legally responsible for defining them. What has killed one ill-conceived movement will only strengthen another, much better one, and this is a good thing.
There is no fix for the “problems” of the public schools, but there is an answer. Don’t permit your children to set foot inside them.