The 3 things that really shattered everything I thought I'd known abut this case for all my life.

1. John Scopes essentially agreed to be prosecuted as part of a (very succcessful) publicity stunt to bring attention to Dayton, Tennessee. In fact, he may not have ever taught evolution.

2. The version of evolution that was taught in 1925 was a moral abomination that endorsed social darwinism and eugenics, and this was expressly why William Jennings Bryant had turned against evolution, not fundamentalist dogmatism.

3. The version of Christian fundamentalism advocated by Bryant was a far cry from the cynical, hypocritical shilling for the wealthy and powerful that passes for a religious movement today.

Looking back at what happened to fundamentalism, I still think Clarence Darrow was on the right side, but if I was actually living through it, I don't know what side I'd be on. It was essentially bad science vs., bad morality.

It's horrible science to base your conclusion on what's morally edifying, instead of real scientific method. but how many of these kids are going to be scientists?