ID and egos

In Kansas they're still arguing about intelligent design. I thought that this issue had passed -- but here it comes again, rearing its malformed head, and getting idiots judging science based on creationism's flimsy evidence.\nThis battle isn't even really about intelligent design, but it's brought forth because of it. While in power, conservative school board members passed changes in the curriculum specifying that current criticisms to evolution must be taught. While this could have been a useful and intuitive change, the revisions were written by a lawyer for the Intelligent Design Network and pissed off everyone (even moderates) so badly that a backlash is coming. \nI can't help but see this hometown strife as being the last refuge for a crazed conservative crowd that doesn't know where else to take the crusade. After a string of failures via reputable sources, ID has to hide among its "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" supporters. \nThe truth is that, legally and scientifically, this matter is settled. The battle was introduced by a group of scientists in the Discovery Institute, a Christian interest group, which wishes to defeat materialist world views and introduce conservative Christian ideas into mainstream culture. While trying to strategically evade detection as neo-creationists, the Discovery Institute has also cited the Gospel of John as being a main influence. \nLast September, a statement was sent to Kansas by 38 Nobel Laureates saying that ID's foundations are "fundamentally unscientific" and reprimanding the school board for having evolution cited as "dangerous dogma." The Laureates expressed wisdom, citing that religion and science do not have to be mutually exclusive.\nIn December, Dover, Pa., parents sued when a teacher was forced to give a presentation about ID, citing it as thinly veiled creationism. The judge agreed, commenting that ID will never be able to shake its religious forbears. \nDoes it sound to you like this should even be a fight anymore? \nPersonally, I don't even understand how any scientist could have such strong feelings against evolution. It's simply a well-proven theory, and not meant to be an attack on any religious institution. Has America really become so polarized that conservative Christians treat the scientific process as an enemy?\nYes. The religious right has begun spewing venom about a religion of "scientism" that is hell-bent on ... you guessed it, destroying Jesus and the American way of life. I think it's funny that this criticism is starting to come out only after this way of thinking couldn't be indoctrinated through official means. Apparently, the philosophy for the hyper-Christian conservatives is "if you can't beat 'em, discredit 'em." \nThere is plenty of room in the world for both scientific and religious worldviews. Both can exist in an open-minded individual. As a scientist, I don't care about my colleagues' personal beliefs -- but if they don't respect evolution as having merit in the lab, I can't and won't respect their work.