Inherit the Wind

One of the films we showed the students in our American Studies class at San Jose State was “Inherit the Wind,” an excellent film based on the 1925  Scopes “Monkey Trial,” with Spencer Tracy as Attorney Clarence Darrow and Fredric March as William Jennings Bryan.  (You can get it on Netflix).

The film makes Bryan look like a fool, which isn’t accurate, but the whole idea that Tennessee would try to legislate against teaching evolution amazed our students. 

Now, over 80 years after the Scopes Trial, Tennessee is doing it again.  The Republican-dominated legislature passed a law to protect teachers who invite students to question “biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming and human cloning.”  The bill is a transparent attempt to encourage teachers to question scientific findings under the guise of “critical thinking.”  

Tennessee calls itself the “Volunteer State.”  They need to change that to “Tennessee:  The dumb-ass state.”