Only In FL! 50% say teach only Creationism/Intelligent Design

This diary may violate a cardinal rule - never type when you are so angry you can't see straight. This is Florida after all, what do I expect?

Florida parents don't have much faith in evolution.

Only 22 percent want public schools to teach an evolution-only curriculum, while 50 percent want only faith-based theories such as creationism or intelligent design, according to a new St. Petersburg Times survey.

An article in the St Pete Times here has the headline "Public: Faith trumps science".

The details of the poll of 702 registered voters is shown below. One can only imagine where they found these voters?

In survey after survey, Florida schools rank near the bottom in terms of funding and drop out rates and you have to wonder what kind of leaders for tomorrow we are preparing down here.

As in many states, there is a battle going on down here over the teaching of evolution in the state approved science texts. Several county school boards in northern Florida (what we really call Southern Georgia) will not allow the mention of evolution, except as a theory that is taugh along side creationism and intelligent design.

What concerns me is the ability the religious conservative right seems to have to take issue after issue (reproductive freedom, marriage equality, equal rights, affirmative action, gun control, teaching of evolution, immigration to name just a few) and somehow manage to re-package the dialog so that we're suddenly back to a position that was acceptable at the end of the 19th century.

Perhaps it's only more freightening to me because I grew up in New England and have lived in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC and suddenly find myself in this land of wingnuts that is Florida.

I think the time is coming for the 4 southern counties of Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe) to give serious consideration to forming a new state of SOUTH FLORIDA. Or perhaps turning over some of the northern counties to the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.

It's either that or stronger blood pressure medicine.