I just moved to
New York from
Kansas (a very healthy
upgrade) and I can tell you that the
vast majority of my city was
embarassed for how the state was viewed in
the eyes of the world. As if it wasn't bad enough having the reputation of the
Wizard of Oz and the sad and pathetic
closed-mindedness of
Fred Phelps and his clan of
anti-gay assholes as the first things to come to mind when Kansas was thought of, now we had to deal with the
humiliation of the Board of Education and it's idiocy. Of course, I came from Lawrence, practically the
liberal oasis in a sea of wheat fields and
conservative hicks (I don't deny it), so the rest of Kansas may have actually agreed with the decision.
For those who don't know, it essentially breaks down like this: The Board does not want evolution taught in schools because they feel it would negate the possibility of other theories of the existence of life (such as the creationist theory). They did not want it taught as FACT. So, rather than introduce other theories into the mix, they voted to oust the entire thing. Evolution can no longer be used on state standardized science tests and is up to the individual biology teacher to determine whether or not he will teach it. It isn't as bad as it seems, but is still a sign of the times, and a depressing one at that.