Inherit The Wind Still Holds A Lesson For Us All
by Ken Kreps
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For those of you who are not familiar with The Scopes Monkey Trial (or to refresh the memory of those who are) in the Summer of 1925, the town of Dayton, Tennessee elected to charge John T. Scopes, a young teacher in the local high school, with the crime of teaching evolution in one of his classes. He wasn't claiming that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was absolute fact, but instead wanted to expose his students to another possibility other than creationism.
The story hit the newspapers and became the talk of the nation. Noted attorney, Clarence Darrow, offered his services, at no charge, for the defense. Upon hearing this, William Jennings Bryan, several times failed Presidential candidate and a real bible thumper in his own right, offered his services as prosecutor. With that, the circus was on. Reporters from hundreds of papers around the world, including the already famous H.L. Mencken, poured into town and even radio (which was just a fledgling at the time) did some of the first remote broadcasts ever attempted, during the course of the trial.
Clarence Darrow (Who was called Henry Drummond in "Inherit The Wind") was brilliant and when the expert scientific witnesses he'd assembled from all over the nation were not allowed to testify by the small town judge, he astounded the court by calling to the stand, the prosecuting attorney, William Jennings Bryan (called Matthew Harrison Brady in the recent television and earlier movie and stage versions). Darrow called Bryan to testify as a self proclaimed bible expert. Bryan was no match for the sharp mind of Darrow and soon, at Darrow's urging, admitted he was sure the world was only six thousand years old. He was cajoled into making quite a few equally ridiculous statements and soon had lost nearly all his credibility to even the quite conservative townspeople of Dayton.
The jury found John T. Scopes guilty of the charge, but the Judge, not wanting to make Dayton, Tennessee the laughing stock of the nation, levied only the minimum sentence possible which was a fine of $100. The maximum sentence was years in jail and even in 1925, a $100 fine was a mere slap on the wrist.
William Jennings Bryan died shortly thereafter and the Scopes Monkey Trial went into the history books as just another, if quite famous, chapter in American jurisprudence.
Well, that was seventy five years ago and by now I'm sure no one believes the world to be only six thousand years old. Don't bet on it. In the late eighties, I worked with a gentleman (who will remain nameless) who said he had unshakable facts that the world was only ten to twelve thousand years old. Now this man wasn't some rube who just fell off the turnip truck. He was a college educated, intelligent man who was thoroughly professional in his work. In fact, he was one of the best at what he did. Yet, there I stood with my mouth open as I realized that this otherwise intelligent man, actually believed what he was telling me. When I asked how oil was produced in such a short time, he said the laws of physics were different back then from what they are now. His beliefs disproved, he said, that Darwin's theory was possible as evolution took far more time. When I ventured a tongue in cheek comment that maybe those different laws of physics he'd mentioned also applied to Darwin's theory of evolution, he became angry and left the room.
Unfortunately, this individual is not alone. Not only do we still have people who believe the world to be only a few thousand years old, when science has proven that millions of years have passed since the formation of the earth, we also have many who believe that the only way we got here was through divine creation. They totally discount the scientific facts showing the various evolutionary paths man took to be where he is today.
I, for one, believe that evolution does not have to be in conflict with the bible or the existence of God. The seven days of creation are not necessarily 24 hour days. They could have taken place over millions of years. I don't begin to have the answer as to what or who God is. Yet I believe in him (or her or whatever) and I do not find that belief to be in conflict with evolution. The bible tells us that God gave us the power to think and to reason. That power to reason quickly tells me the wacko theory that the earth is only a few thousand years old is just that.....a wacko theory.
I believe there are many religious zealots, today, who would have teachers expelled from their jobs for mentioning evolution in a classroom. In fact, a few states now highly discourage the teaching or mention of evolution from their classrooms. These states are obviously not the sharpest pencils in the bunch. They fail to understand that the greatest knowledge any school can give a student is the ability to think. The ability to look at situations and events, weigh the evidence and then make their own logical conclusions. The strict creationism theory of the religious fundamentalists sounds nice, but under the microscope of reason and knowledge, it simply doesn't hold up.
Yes, we've come a long way from the narrow minded, ignorant views that fueled the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925. The pity is, we yet have so very far to travel before we finally escape the shackles of religious oppression that still tries to impede scientific exploration and man's ability to think for himself.
Ken Kreps lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife. He has written a number of articles, essays and short stories, as well as numerous consumer and business pieces. Ken has also written scripts for Imagination Theater, an award winning audio drama series heard on over 150 commercial radio stations across the nation. Ken is an actor in the Seattle area, appearing primarily in independent films, television commercials, and has also done some voice-over work.