When I Run Out of Ideas

I do on occasion run out of ideas for my column writing. I do this after finishing a huge writing project like a book. I am just plain "written out" and am fresh out of things to say. When this happens, I turn to the news and am rarely disappointed.

This morning, I read a story by Associated Press writer, Carl Hartman, entitled, Smithsonian Finds Scopes Trial Photos. This seemed innocuous. The story, as well as the photos, were... interesting.

What got my "Snit-O-Meter" going was how this reporter, like probably everyone on the face of the earth would report, reported the Scopes Trial as a genuine and bona fide criminal trial that took place.

Would it surprise you to learn that it was not so?

Let me first site two sources you simply must read. The first is an article by Carol Iannone.[1] The second is small book by Phillip E. Johnson, a law graduate of Harvard and The University of Chicago. He was also a law clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren and taught law for thirty years at University of California at Berkley.

In Johnson's book, Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds[2], he says:

"The Scopes Trial was not a serious prosecution but a symbolic confrontation engineered to put the town of Dayton, Tennessee on the map. The Tennessee legislature had funded a new science education program and, to reassure the public that science would not be used to discredit religion, had included as a symbolic measure a clause forbidding the teaching of evolution. The governor, who signed the bill, realizing that any prosecution would be an embarrassment, predicted that the law would not be enforced. The American Civil Liberties Union wanted a test case, however, and advertised for a teacher willing to be a nominal defendant in a staged prosecution."[3]

This man never had a chance in hell of going to jail or paying a fine for anything. The Scopes Trial was a hoax.

Now I encourage you to seek out these sources and read them. The small book by Johnson can be purchased cheaply at most bookstores and at Amazon.com. Get it and read it!

But my point in writing about this is NOT to unravel the hoax of the Scopes Trial but to pose an issue that I often bring up in my writings and in my newest, yet-to-be-released book, America's Anti-Mexican Xenophobia (I apologize for that shameless plug for my book-not really! BUY IT!).

It is just beyond the pale that this Associated Press writer would accept, minus the application of a finely tuned "Phony-Baloney Detector", without question that the Scope's Trial was a genuine criminal prosecution. I might add the American public as a whole and most scientists as well to that list.

How is it the Scope's Trial, as well as any other number of ideologically motivated hoaxes (The Gay Agenda movement?) has been accepted and ingrained into the minds of the American people as incontrovertible fact?

Harvard Genetics Professor Richard Lewontin writes of a possible reason (one which I accept as valid):

"We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a priori commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door. The eminent Kant scholar Lewis Beck used to say that anyone who could believe in God could believe in anything. To appeal to an omnipotent deity is to allow that at any moment the regularities of nature may be ruptured, that miracles may happen."[4]

Professor Lewontin's quote is probably the most salient explanation for why the Evolution hypothesis or the "I was born that way" Gay Agenda hypothesis seems so certain to elitist insiders and so uncertain to those outside the elite groups. It is the a priori commitment to an ideology first, then to setting about to "prove" their ideology with evidence. These groups are compelled by their ideological a priori commitment to go about creating methodologies of investigation, to produce their desired outcomes, based not on Critical Thinking Skills (Phony-Baloney Detection) but on ideology.

This is why it is so important NOT to live your life according to untested assumptions! You have to develop a finely tuned and razor sharp Phony-Baloney Detection kit that you will pull out to evaluate everything you hear and read-including this author's writings!

Thinking critically is hard work. It takes time and it takes commitment. Nevertheless, please do not doom yourself to living an "a priori" commitment to an ideology first kind of life. Test! Test! Test!

Get busy developing that phony-baloney detection kit today!

In addition, make sure you buy all my books!

[1] http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9702/articles/iannone.html

[2] Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds; by Phillip E. Johnson; Intervarsity Press; copyright @1997

[3] Ibid

[4] The Unraveling of Scientific Materialism; by Phillip E. Johnson; http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9711/articles/johnson.html

Freelance writer, Syndicated Columnist, and book author, Doug Bower, has written a compelling new book titled, AMERICA'S ANTI-MEXICAN XENOPHOBIA. Have you wondered if the Minuteman Project is really on the "up and up"? Have you wondered if they represent all that is good and right with America-paragons of patriotic virtue? Doug Bower may have the answers you've been looking for.

Check out his new book: http://www.lulu.com/mexicanliving

---

Does Your Fight Scene Pack a Punch?

Long ago, movie directors mastered the technique of creating a... Read More

Plagiarism Through The Eyes Of College Students

Plagiarism has been condemned lately by all types of experts,... Read More

The Myths Of Writing: Have You Bought Into These?

There is an image most people carry of the artist... Read More

Friendly Critiques

When a writer is working on their next literary masterpiece... Read More

A Writers Personal Cheer Squad

We all need a cheer squad.We all need people to... Read More

A Single Technique

Writing is hard work, and like all hard work, one... Read More

How To Write Your Book Within A Week

Everyone has a book inside them, or so the saying... Read More

The Dreaded Daily Word Count

Open any book on 'how to write,' and somewhere you... Read More

Writing the KAIZEN Way

Over the past eight years or so, I have tutored... Read More

Turning Your Journal Into An Idea Bank

A few magazines refer to their written idea sources in... Read More

Formats for Writing Life Narratives

Q and A.Best choice when subject is very verbal or... Read More

Finish Your Book Already!

I owe the completion and success of my book to... Read More

Write a Letter, Make a Difference

Today I took the dog for a walk and realized... Read More

6 Tricks To Squeeze Your Letters Onto One Page

Anyone who has read any of my articles on the... Read More

Spiritual Journaling

Whether you keep a separate spiritual journal or just want... Read More

Is The Theme Reinforced In The Ending?

Creative Writing Tips ?By now you should have an idea... Read More

Personal Journaling - Strategies To Make It Easy

Recently I was watching the Oprah show and it was... Read More

Fight The Fluff!

The first and final rule of quality writing is this:... Read More

Should You Hire a Ghostwriter?

Have you heard the term 'ghostwriter' and wondered what they... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Writing a Novel

No one is born a novel writer. But do you... Read More

Mission Possible: Get Published with Goals, Guidance, and Persistance

You send me an e-mail. You tell me you've written... Read More

Blank Mind, Blank Screen: Need Ideas!

Q. I'm staring at a blank screen with an equally... Read More

Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book

You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More

2nd Installment on Autobiography

ESSAY 2Andre Malraux once said that what interested him in... Read More

3 Quick Tips on Plotting Your Book

Plotting a book can seem an overwhelming task when you're... Read More

To Write Successful Business & Academic Communications, Learn the Architecture of a Story

Human beings seem to be born with a gene for... Read More

Five Common Errors to Correct Before Submitting a Letter or Report

First impressions count in writing too! So it is always... Read More

How to Break In and Succeed as a Screenwriter

Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a... Read More

Turbo-Charging Your Writing Career - 6 High-Yield Strategies

Hands up all those who'd like to have a successful... Read More

Mama Dont Allow No Fighting in Your Writing

When you sit down to write a steamy romance, a... Read More

Creative Writing Tips - Does The Name You Chose Suit Your Character?

How do you choose a name? Do you put down... Read More

Is Someone Plagiarizing Your Work?

About two weeks ago I received an article submissionthat immediately... Read More

Recommendation Letters Demystified

There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters.Recommendation letters... Read More