Censorship is one of the concerns of the scientists as
it relates to the subject of ID and evolution, and
censorship is what concerns me about the comments made
in the last paragraph of this posting.

The paragraph presumes that:

o  Board members can't be on this list.
o  Board members won't be swayed by the opinions of
learned staff and how a topic plays to the masses.
o  The subject is of no merit, in the best case, and
offensive, in the worst, to the person posting,
therefore, the topic should be censored.

Admittedly, it is a controversial subject.  There are
strong feelings on both sides of the test tube on this
one.  There are days I woe the fact that I'm not a
sweet young thing anymore, but not today for, with
that age comes experience (if not wisdom, LOL).

This topic is not going to play well in certain
segments of the population.  The Europeans on list
have indicated they don't understand all the American
fuss about it (but they don't quite understand how
religioun has been playing heavily in American
politics of late).  The scientists take affront at the
attempts of some to superimpose theory (faith) as
fact.  The "Christians" on list see the attempt to
push back religious dogma/theory as an attack on
Christianity.

I've lived long enough to have grown up in the era
when "God is Dead," only to have Him rescusitated,
with tons of people professing their newfound piety as
the absolute truth and proselytzing to their heart's
content.  Well, we're a fickle nation, and fads come
and go.  In some segments of the US, this
hyperreligiosity sort of died off for the better part
of a decade or so.  People went back to their old ways
of life, and church wasn't the en vogue thing to be
part of for some period of time.

Now, that's not an absolute truth.  While I've lived
my whole life in California, I have traveled to other
states, and I've never seen so many churches in my
whole life as I did when I traveled to the Bible Belt
(whoa Dude, they've got more versions of Christian
religion in the South than Baskin Robbins and its 31
Flavors!).  So some folks kept going to church from
cradle to grave, but a good chunk of Americans didn't.

We had umpteen years of Republican presidents, where
God was dead or alive, and then we had eight years of
a Democratic President, and then the Republicans took
back the helm again and, this time, punctuated every
third sentence with God.  

We were attacked on 9/11 as a nation, and folks
scrambled to church to find strength in a perceived
higher power, and to help fight the "holy wars."  And
Americans, wanting to be en vogue again, rushed forth
in some segments to show how fashionably Christian
they were.  Like an old pair of high heels,
Christianity had become fashionable once more--in some
segments--and certain folks in position of high places
took advantage of the power of the office and
attempted to superimpose religious beliefs on the rest
of America.  Our tax dollars are now supporting
faith-based organizations all the while the
faith-based orgs are getting tax deductions because of
the faith.  

All this in the background.  The scientists are making
all kinds of discoveries with DNA, carbon dating, new
technologies, and the like.  And their findings are
counter to the belief-based "findings" of the
"newfound Christians" (where would Dubya be without
Billy Graham?).  Everybody thinks THEY'RE right, and
these scientific findings are absolutely blowing the
paradigm of the "true believers."  

So, the "true believers" come up with another
marketing ploy.  How about Intelligent Design? They
don't put science behind it.  They just take SOME of
the science (sort of like taking SOME of the
Commandments, which are supposed to be an all or
nothing proposition) and then invent the rest to go
with the story line.

We talk about separation of religion and politics in
America, and you're right, it wasn't part of the
Constitution.  But America was formed as a place to
escape religious prosecution (in some measure), and
some are finding that all the hyperrelgiosity is
becoming oppressive.  When school districts are
censoring the teaching of evolution and substituting
the subject of Intellgent Design, it is overbearing
and oppressive.  When political leaders are being
denied communion or banished from a church for
following the law, that is oppression.  The same
church that wants to excommunicate a politician for
supporting Roe also refuses to pay for child support
for the child of a seminarian now priest saying the
woman should have used birth control, something
against the church's very doctrine!  But I digress.

Whether the topic makes any uncomfortable or not here,
whether it flies in the face of one's personal
beliefs, it is a timely topic that DOES have a place
on THIS listserve as people (curators, EDs, board
members, funders, etc.) determine what exhibits will
and will not be placed in today's museums.  Museums
play an integral, educational role and help, in some
segments, to shape public opinion.  If not discussed
in a museum forum, then where?

Like the person who said they delete tractor and farm
equipment info, not everything is valuable here to me.
 I may not read in great depth the info about
tractors, but I often pick up a little knowledge even
in those posts for which I otherwise would have no
interest.  Why keep others from that exposure because
you find the subject untenable?



--- Rebecca Fitzgerald <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> The statement below that "we are slowly edging
> towards becoming the
> Christian equivalent of the fundamentalist Muslim
> state" is really
> irresponsible - and I (and I'm sure many others) on
> this list are offended
> by it. We are not going to solve the
> evolution/ID/creationism issue in this
> forum. We are all somehow affiliated with museums,
> and it is up to the
> museums' boards of directors to determine how the
> issue plays out in our
> institutions. So, I suggest that future discussion
> of this topic be
> continued off list, unless there is actually a real
> query for the group that
> is somehow related to this topic.
> 
> Becky Fitzgerald
> Executive Director
> Susquehanna Museum
> 


Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]

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