Output Stream of Consciousness

I was reading an interesting news article summarizing the life and times of Mirecki, the professor at the center of a firestorm in Kansas where he was to teach a class talking about mythologies including Intelligent Design, had to drop the course and resign his post as head of Religious Studies after someone published some of his postings on an atheist Yahoo group, and then got beaten by two men tailing him when he stepped out of his car wondering if someone was coming to tell him he had something wrong with his car.

In the comments section is an invitation by Justin Beck of RadioProject.org to send comments re: Intelligent Design for use in a syndicated radio show. Following is the call for thoughts, reproduced without permission:

Hi all,

I’m looking for some help on a short documentary I’m producing about the debate over intelligent design. It will be aired on a nationally-syndicated, weekly radio newsmagazine called “Making Contact”. (More about the show here: www.radioproject.org)

For my story I’d like to open up our toll-free phone line and allow you all to add your two cents. Your comments, if I choose to include them, will be heard on more than 190 public/community/college radio stations in the U.S. and Canada (for a full list, please visit the web link above). The tentative air date for this piece is early January.

Here’s how you can participate:

Our toll-free number is 1-800-529-5736. The deadline is Friday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m. PST to call and give your answers to the following prompts. (This is NOT a live call-in radio show.)

1. Briefly introduce yourself. If you wish, use only your first name. Tell us where you live and what you do for a living. Briefly explain your own relationship to this story, if any.

2. Give a definition of intelligent design (“Intelligent design is…”). Explain why you support or reject the idea itself. Then, say why you support or oppose the teaching of intelligent design in Kansas schools.

3. Give a definition of evolution. Explain why you support or reject the idea. Say why you support or oppose the teaching of evolution in Kansas schools.

4. What is your take on the Mirecki story? What was your reaction to his proposed course? Do you feel he stepped over a line by making comments about “fundies” and how his course would be a “nice slap in their big fat faces,” and why? What was your reaction to learning that Prof. Mirecki was beaten? How do you feel about his decision to resign as chair of the department?

5. What, if anything, do you think the Mirecki story says about your community and about the larger, national debate over intelligent design? Do you see the beating as an isolated incident, or as part of an overall culture war? Or something else?

6. Imagine a fictional United States of America 40 years from now, after all states’ boards of education have adopted pro-intelligent design curricula, and an entire generation has been raised on such teachings. What kind of country would it be?

Please try to answer each question in 30 seconds or less. At the end of your message, please say your full name and leave a phone number or e-mail address, so that I can reach you if needed. Your contact information will NOT be made public.

Again, the deadline for your answers is this Friday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m. PST. The number to call is 1-800-529-5736. Early submissions will be greatly appreciated!

If you have any questions or concerns before participating in this project, call me at my office at 510-251-1332 ext. 103, on my cell at 510-332-3719 or write to justin – at – radioproject – dot – org.

So, let the fun begin!

Justin Beck
Associate Producer, “Making Contact”