"West Wing"

I love this show. It's smart in a way people don't even recognize anymore. This is verbatim from the script of the show. Two weeks ago Jimmy Smits character, the Democratic presidential candidate Matt Santos, was being pressed by the media for his views on teaching "intelligent design" alongside of evolution in public school classrooms. In this scene he is speaking to a group of young musicians and there is press and parents behind them:

SANTOS
To be a person of faith is to have the world challenge that faith. Was the universe designed by God? That’s up to everyone in this country to decide for themselves because the framers of our Constitution believed that if the people were to be sovereign and belong to different religions at the same time then our official religion would have to be no religion at all. It was a bold experiment then, as it is now. It wasn’t meant to make us comfortable. It was meant to make us free.

REYNOLDS
May I ask you if you believe in the theory of evolution?

SANTOS
Well, I think it’d be very difficult to teach geology, anthropology, and zoology without evolution, so yes, I do. I don’t believe it’s contradictory to believe in science and believe in God.

REYNOLDS
Do you believe that the theory of Intelligent Design and the Theory of Evolution should be taught alongside each other in the public schools?

SANTOS
Absolutely not. One is based on science, the other is based on faith. Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory, it’s a religious belief. And our Constitution does not allow for the teaching of religion in our public schools.

REYNOLDS
Many of us here would be more comfortable if our children were taught all points of view.

SANTOS
And I’m all for that. Evolution is not perfect. It doesn’t answer every question but it is based on scientific facts; facts that can be predicted, tested, and proven. Intelligent Design asks theological questions. I’m sure that many of us would agree that at the beginning of all that begat-ing, something begun.

The people laugh.

SANTOS
What was that something?

REYNOLDS
Congressman Santos, many of us want a version of science taught to our kids that’s in accordance with our beliefs.

SANTOS
I understand. But can’t we agree that the inclusion of non-scientific explanations into the science curriculum of our schools misrepresents the nature of science? And therefore compromises a central purpose in our public education which is the preparation of a scientifically literate workforce. If you have a problem with your child’s education, get involved. If you have a problem with what the School Board wants to teach, run for School Board. We can never forget that the best way to preserve our democracy is to take part in it.