Recently, there was uproar about comments made by Bill Nye, the ever famous Science Guy, on the importance of teaching evolution. He talked about how creationism and evolution are two very different concepts, bluntly stating that the former cannot account for our world since it lacks evidence. Rather than focusing on a ‘Religion vs. Science’ argument, I am going to highlight a lesson I took from his statement: science education is vital for everyone.
Although teaching creationism can instill good values in children, teaching evolution will allow them to make informed decisions about their health and world in the future. The importance of science education has been proven countless of times throughout history. For starters, people unfamiliar with science concepts may make poor decisions and get scared much more easily about scientific issues. The incredibly funny Jenny McCarthy believes vaccines cause autism and condemns them for doing so.
Back in Cuba, my native land, people used to take antibiotics to ‘cleanse’ their organism. This is echoed in many Latin American developing nations as well as other poor nations around the world which show a high index of antiobiotic overuse. If evolution was a common concept, people would know that this is one of the ways microbes may get antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, shying away from science is no foreign concept to North America either. When the HIV epidemic exploded in the 1980s, many politicians and doctors dismissed it as a punishment from god to the gay community.
A more recent example deals with the constant battle for the eradication of polio in Africa. Attempts to accomplish this keep being thwarted by many who believe the vaccine is the root of all evils. For instance, in 2004, in Nigeria, religious leaders argued the vaccine was actually a Western secret plan to sterilze all Nigerian children and decided to stop vaccinations. Situations such as these are incredibly sad because these kids who will eventually suffer from polio will not know that this decision was, in fact, not for their own good.
Thus, teaching science is crucial because it can improve mankind’s health! But, I will not condemn those who have a set system of beliefs and label it as backward thinking, as Bill Nye suggested. Striving for understanding and tolerance can lead to a better and more informed global community in the future. Besides, comparing the two is pointless since if these two concepts were chemicals, evolution would be Lithium Aluminum Hydride and creationism, water. Do not put them together. Ever.
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