Inherit the Wind


Hannah Crouser 

One of the many questions explored in the film “Inherit the Wind” is the concept of community, and who has the right to disturb the community and change what they believe. The film follows a high school teacher’s trial as he fights for the right to teach evolution in a very religious town. The townspeople are opposed to his teaching methods and claim he is trying to disrupt the community. This community has values and beliefs they don’t want to be disturbed. The question here is does a person have a right to go against those values in a place like a school? This question was also explored in the reading we had, where a school football coach would pray after every game out on the field. Sometimes this prayer would end up involving multiple people, and players felt forced to take part. The question here is if a person has the right to believe what they want, even if it disrupts others? 

In the United States we believe in a separation of church and the state, yet religion is at the base of everything we are founded on. When legal decisions are made about religion the decision is based on if the actions are hurting others. That line can get pretty blurred, and it is hard to decide what is legal and what is not. Do we allow people to use religion as a way to demonstrate their hatred for certain groups of people, or do we deny them their freedom of speech? At the end of the day we are all people living on this planet, figuring out who we are and what we believe. I believe every person should be given the chance to figure out who they are without it being forced upon them by their communities. We need to be able to have civilized discussions with each other and find out why we all believe what we do, without forcing our beliefs on other people. I believe the best place to do this is a school. The goal of a school is to educate, so why not learn about the real world and ways of thinking we may encounter?      

Comments

  1. Catherine BolzendahlFebruary 18, 2023 at 11:26 AM

    Good comments that align with some of the issues I'm seeing in your peer's posts. I too have suggested that education is a place where we need to take on challenging topics and not be afraid to question the status quo. But research also shows it can be used to socialize people into their society's values, which may be a real fear when it comes to a place like Hillsboro where they seem to be "out of step" with the changing times. I can think of some current examples as well!

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