Re: [asa] ASA members to speak at Darwin event in Dayton, Tennessee

As a further reply to John Walley's reference to "Inherit the Wind," let me
note that the mythology created by that play and film (both of which I have
seen) are deeply ingrained in the American psyche. I could do a whole
article on this, but fortunately others have already done it better; so much
could be said that I won't try to duplicate it or even reference it all
here. I'll just point to one very insightful critique, among several such,
that is readily accessible on the web:
http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9702/articles/iannone.html.

Ms Iannone spoke here a couple of years ago, when we performed the play on
campus.

For a much more accurate film about the Scopes trial, which also shows what
the folks in Dayton think of "Inherit the Wind," see "Monkey Trial," in the
American Experience program from PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/monkeytrial/
Don't miss the link to the speech by Clarence Darrow from the Leopold-Loeb
case, which he argued just the previous year. A convinced psychological
determinist, Darrow argued that they weren't really responsible for what
they had done--their social and educational backgrounds as privileged youth
had made 'em do it. One more reason why not everyone was rooting for the
defense in Dayton.

Ted

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Received on Mon Feb 23 14:55:04 2009