Scopes Monkey Trial.

Discussion in 'History' started by Saturnine Pariah, Mar 7, 2013.

  1. Saturnine Pariah Hell is other people Valued Senior Member

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    [video=youtube;IVD4TjxnJ0M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVD4TjxnJ0M[/video]
     
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  3. The Marquis Only want the best for Nigel Valued Senior Member

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    History. I suppose it is, really.

    I'm trying to understand the point in American history at which the desire for advancement became a satisfaction for being the lesser of two evils. It is far to easy to surrender to the belief that you're better than the alternative.
    America gave up on being a symbol and settled for being a benchmark. America bought in to being that benchmark.

    A man can be proud of what he is. When he attains that pride, he ceases to strive to be be more than what he is.
    America is the man who has become proud.
     
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  5. Saturnine Pariah Hell is other people Valued Senior Member

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    Indeed, couldn't have stated it any better myself.

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  7. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    The Americans who found evolutionary theory persuasive and explanatory were accepting European scientific thought. The culture of honor and pride is mainly an attribute of the old Confederacy.

    American continued to strive to better itself long after the Scopes trial.
     
  8. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    I have not time, nor current intention to sit through over one hour of video without some idea of the perspective and message of the piece. In the absence of any comments to accompany the video (a rather rude action and contrary to good forum etiquette) it renders the eloquent phraseology of The Marquis quite meaningless.

    Would you like to summarise the contents of the video? I don't need a summary of the Scopes trial, thought that could be useful to some, I'd like to know what conclusions the video reaches about the background, impact and significance of the trial.
     
  9. Saturnine Pariah Hell is other people Valued Senior Member

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    It made for great oratory between eminent rivals, and it put the debate over teaching evolution on front pages across the country. But one thing the Scopes "monkey trial" of 1925 did not do was settle the contentious issue of evolution in the schools, which continues to incite strong passions and court actions to this day.

    Narrowly, the trial was about challenging a newly passed Tennessee state law against teaching evolution or any other theory denying the biblical account of the creation of man. Broadly, the case reflected a collision of traditional views and values with more modern ones: It was a time of evangelism by figures such as Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday against forces, including jazz, sexual permissiveness, and racy Hollywood movies, which they thought were undermining the authority of the Bible and Christian morals in society.

    John Scopes, the 24-year-old defendant, taught in the public high school in Dayton, Tenn., and included evolution in his curriculum. He agreed to be the focus of a test case attacking the new law, and was arrested for teaching evolution and tried with the American Civil Liberties Union backing his defense. His lawyer was the legendary Clarence Darrow, who, besides being a renowned defense attorney for labor and radical figures, was an avowed agnostic in religious matters.

    The state's attorney was William Jennings Bryan, a Christian, pacifist, and former candidate for the U.S. presidency. He agreed to take the case because he believed that evolution theory led to dangerous social movements. And he believed the Bible should be interpreted literally.

    The weather was stiflingly hot and the rhetoric equally heated in this "trial of the century" attended by hundreds of reporters and others who crowded the Rhea County Courthouse in July 1925. Rather than the validity of the law under which Scopes was being charged, the authority of the Bible versus the soundness of Darwin's theory became the focus of the arguments.

    "Millions of guesses strung together," is how Bryan characterized evolutionary theory, adding that the theory made man "indistinguishable among the mammals." Darrow, in his attacks, tried to poke holes in the Genesis story according to modern thinking, calling them "fool ideas that no intelligent Christian on earth believes."

    The jury found Scopes guilty of violating the law and fined him $100. Bryan and the anti-evolutionists claimed victory, and the Tennessee law would stand for another 42 years. But Clarence Darrow and the ACLU had succeeded in publicizing scientific evidence for evolution, and the press reported that though Bryan had won the case, he had lost the argument. The verdict did have a chilling effect on teaching evolution in the classroom, however, and not until the 1960s did it reappear in schoolbooks.
     
  10. Saturnine Pariah Hell is other people Valued Senior Member

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    I was not aware of these unwritten rules.
     
  11. The Marquis Only want the best for Nigel Valued Senior Member

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    They aren't rules, Saturnine Pariah written or otherwise. They are opinions.
    Some people believe that their personal conduct should be universal. I myself can be rather opinionated, and I do have a tendency to piss people off; but having said that that, I have never advocated nor subscribed to any dictates as to the manner in which all should act.

    Opheolite has just informed you that, despite having not watched the video, he felt inclined to mention that you should have added a few words as to your opinion on it, or what your intentions were concerning the nature of comment.
    I would tend to agree.
    The majority will react to comment rather than interpreting things in their own way. My own comments were somewhat a tangent to direct response, but you opened that window. Personally, I'll appreciate that from time to time and bite anyway. The results aren't always at first glance meaningful, which might run contrary to your own observations or expectations.

    Unless you happen to be one of those who does not think along established lines.
     
  12. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    That was why I chose to inform you.

    Thank you for the detailed report of the background of the video - if that was what post #6 was - but as I said, I was more interested in the conclusions the video reached about the trial, rather than a recap of the trial. Or is that what the video basically was?
     
  13. Saturnine Pariah Hell is other people Valued Senior Member

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    More or less. I'm the type of person that likes to present the information and have the viewers draw their own conclusions from it..However with the advice you have given me I’ll be sure to add a summary to any video that is longer than fifteen minutes. The same cannot be said for articles that bring in..if your too lazy to read a article, I can’t help you.
     
  14. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    On the contrary. If you are too lazy to provide a concise summary of the content and thesis of any article you choose to share with others, then I would strongly suspect that your ability to discern quality articles is questionable. Providing such a summary is helpful and polite. If you wish to be the opposite of these two things then go ahead with your current plans.
     
  15. Saturnine Pariah Hell is other people Valued Senior Member

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    I never realized that this was such a big issue for you Ophiolite. Have a nice day.
     
  16. Ophiolite Valued Senior Member

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    And I didn't realise that someone prepared to take the time to share information would consider politeness and helpfullness such a small issue.
     

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