Yoko One lost in her bid to block distribution of Expelled. See here, here and here for details (the CTV.ca link is where I first learned about this).
I guess Expelled is coming to Canada after all.
Showing posts with label Expelled. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Expelled. Show all posts
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Expelled Syndrome
One of the great things about the blogoverse is the variety of viewpoints on certain subjects. One of the most contentious subjects is the alleged persecution of teachers/professors who advocate or merely mention ID. Some say it's real, others say it is non-existent or blown out of proportion.
There are professors in secular universities (Dr. David Heddle and Dr. Keith Miller come to mind) who have not experienced the persecution claimed by others. They claim that they are free to express their viewpoints in open discussion with their colleagues. I believe their testimony to be true.
On the flip side, you have the cases of Dr. Richard Sternberg and Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, both of whom claim persecution for supporting the ID position - in the case of Dr. Gonzalez, it probably cost him tenure and subsequently his job at Iowa State. I also believe the testimonies of Drs. Sternberg and Gonzalez are true.
So am I fence-sitting here? Hardly. I believe the individual testimonies of persecution documented in Expelled are probably true. However, are the persecutions wide-spread, isolated, or somewhere in-between? I personally think it's "Door #3". Thus, while Expelled is still a movie that'll make it into my video library, and a movie I'll probably enjoy, the movie probably exaggerates the widespread-ness of the persecutions.
Update 02 June, 2008: Portion of post deleted after much thought and debate - see comments for further details.
I would like to close with several points:
I think I've adequately ticked off people on both sides, so my job is done.
There are professors in secular universities (Dr. David Heddle and Dr. Keith Miller come to mind) who have not experienced the persecution claimed by others. They claim that they are free to express their viewpoints in open discussion with their colleagues. I believe their testimony to be true.
On the flip side, you have the cases of Dr. Richard Sternberg and Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, both of whom claim persecution for supporting the ID position - in the case of Dr. Gonzalez, it probably cost him tenure and subsequently his job at Iowa State. I also believe the testimonies of Drs. Sternberg and Gonzalez are true.
So am I fence-sitting here? Hardly. I believe the individual testimonies of persecution documented in Expelled are probably true. However, are the persecutions wide-spread, isolated, or somewhere in-between? I personally think it's "Door #3". Thus, while Expelled is still a movie that'll make it into my video library, and a movie I'll probably enjoy, the movie probably exaggerates the widespread-ness of the persecutions.
Update 02 June, 2008: Portion of post deleted after much thought and debate - see comments for further details.
I would like to close with several points:
- Just because you don't see persecution taking place where you are at does not mean that it isn't happening elsewhere.
- Everyone in the IDM should tone down the rhetoric. This is NOT the USSR under Stalin.
- Playing with people's careers just because they have a different view from you is dastardly and should be condemned by all.
I think I've adequately ticked off people on both sides, so my job is done.
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