Inherit the Wind - Religion vs. Progress

 I think this film really drove home the debate around this topic for the time and what the real trial was about. They hit home the point that the trial was really all about a person's freedom to think. The prosecution does not think that thinking, is on trial but once he goes on the stand the defense lawyer gets him to say that if a god wanted a sponge to think then a sponge would think, and the defense is asking that his client get the same rights as a sponge. Big ideas especially in science have often been contested in politics throughout history. The main debate was fundamentalism versus freedom of thought. If the prosecution won it would mean they could continue to keep evolution out of schools. If the defense won it would allow for separation from religion and education. That poses a threat to Brady because the power he has gained is founded on religion. They use fear tactics to keep people in line and reject new ideas.  Just as this trial and politics of the time revolved around religion, the same is true for our society today. As we have recently seen in the roe vs. wade overturning many of the arguments were based on religious views and that was found as a valid argument. Our pledge of allegiance even says “one nation under God.” Although we like to talk about the separation of church and state, religion continues to have a strong influence over politics. In my parent's local church back home, every election cycle they give out a pamphlet to the community telling them which way to vote. The two are still so intertwined, and if we continue to use religion as a valid argument in political measures people's freedoms are at stake.

Comments

  1. Catherine BolzendahlFebruary 18, 2023 at 11:19 AM

    Yes, I see two points you are making - one about the question as to whether what is really on trial is the freedom to think. We clearly see these debates happening around us today as well with push back against thinking about LGBT+ issues or racism. Tied to that is your comment on the role of religion and questions of whether we really have a separation of church and state.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

El Norte

Image
El Norte is a film about a brother and sister’s journey from a small Guatemalan village north to the US, where they hope to have a better life. While there they face many of the problems Latin American immigrants face in the US. To migrants, the US provides the opportunity of work and some degree of safety while at the same time the US actively creates barriers for immigrants. This was displayed in the movie by Enrique and Rosa not having official documents which greatly limited their job opportunities and limited where they could live. ICE was also a constant threat to Enrique and Rosa along with the people they worked with, such as Enrique’s coworker who reported him to immigration. Later generation migrants tend to contribute to an idealized version of the US that was portrayed by the villagers’ more positive description of the US. In this idealized version, immigration to the US is an easy process and once in the US wealth is abundant for those who try hard. In reality, living in t...
Read more

Dr. Strangelove- Havlyn Ehrich

Image
  Dr. Strangelove is a very interesting movie. We see a satirical stance of politics addressing the Cold War at the time the movie was made. According to one of the readings posted by The Atlantic, it is noted that audiences laughed at this movie back in 1964 when it was produced. However, things became more serious as time went on and nuclear war terminology soon became the norm in public entertainment. The movie Dr. Strangelove tells the story of an individual who has gone insane and launched a nuclear missile attack on the Soviet Union. The movie highlights the incompetence of the president in the movie as well the other governmental officials. They were all acting in fear that the Soviet Union would send nuclear missiles on them too. Such a case would be considered mutual destruction: each party terminates the other. Though this was meant as a comedy, this idea became very real to the people at the time and still flourish in the lives of Americans today. The US president is a...
Read more

Norma Rae Written Reflection

Image
 Maddie D  The question put forward in class for reflection on “Norma Rae” states, “how well-placed is belief in the marketplace and/or government action to ensure the success of labor?” Approaching this question forced me to define what I believe “success of labor” to be. For companies and the government, success of labor would mean tasks and jobs are completed in a satisfactory manner within an ideal timeframe to make the most revenue. For me and many employees, I think success in labor would look like having pride and dignity in work, being paid and treated well, and completing the work that needs to be done. I believe both of these definitions of success can be true simultaneously, but as discussed in class and seen in the film “Norma Rae,” historically and currently employees have been denied fair treatment. It seems that often the power given to the market and the government is too much and ends up allowing for employee abuse. Unions are important because they offer empl...
Read more