People are amazing. Some will amaze you with how much they do or how good they are. Others amaze you from the other direction. Life in Indiana has been eye opening at times. After talking to patrons at the library, I find myself amazed... I thought that attitude or attribute was only a stereotype... or something that only happened in history books.
For example: I hosted a Charles Darwin taste testing event at the library today. Food, science and a movie tie in... perfect. My small town was shocked. I had a lady come to the library to tell me that she was disappointed that the "library was celebrating this anti-Christian theory." She wanted permission to come to the event and protest it. She was disappointed that the library was leading children away from God and thought that there were lots of other good people that we could honor. She felt that it was her duty to speak out. My internal reply was "What is so dangerous about potatoes, apples and oreos?" Followed by "The public library is not the place to defend Christianity, or any religious perspective exclusively." Externally, I thanked her for her opinion and told her that she couldn't protest in the program.
In every science class that I've had, when the teacher talks about evolution we spend some time mentioning all those who oppose this theory. But they are discounted and proved to be ridiculous. In my mind it has always been abstract. Those silly people who didn't take the time to study the theory, who have such a narrow view of their religion. Evolution to me has never been an issue of belief. I believe that God, as master of the universe, follows the physical laws that he has set forth. Evolution is a lot like gravity. The proof is all around us and isn't something that I need to protest about. I really don't care how He created the earth, I'm more interested in the why.
I had a great program, and this stereotype lady handed out flyers in front of the library instead of inside. More power to her. Today's high was 27 degrees. She had every right to protest and no right to ask us to not host the event.
2 comments:
We celebrated Darwin Day last night trying 9 different kinds of apples in various recipes. Did you find more than that for your library activity?
I think you'll find people that feel very strongly about their beliefs just about everywhere, not just in Indiana.
My favorite is a billboard that we pass just outside of Indianapolis. It says, "In the beginning....GOD CREATED!" The best part, there's a little circle with a gorilla changing to a man with a line through it saying NO DARWINISM.
The Bug Hero noticed that most people out here don't understand the theory of Evolution very well. He says that of all his lab mates he's got the best education on it because in Utah we make sure that everyone knows what Darwinsism means.
I love your story!
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