Evolution

One thing I’d like to bring up concerning the brouhaha going on in Kansas over evolution. The fight revolves around whether or not intelligent design should be taught in biology classes. By the way, the total amount of time used to “teach” this is about one minute. A single sentence is read. Of course, what more could you say about it? This issue is so dividing in Kansas that eighteen people ran for school board in Dover, KS. Fourteen emerged from yesterdays primary to run for seven seats.

Here’s what I want to talk about though. If you believe in evolution, and I do, you must also believe in one indisputable fact. We are not the final form, that is, unless we destroy the planet. Homo Sapien will eventually evolve into something else. For the purpose of this writing we will refer to the thing we will evolve into as Homo Next.

I don’t know what the differences between Homo Next and us will be. I don’t know how many subtle changes have to happen before we become Homo Next. Smarter people than me will have to figure that out.

This creeps a lot of people out even though we will all be long dead before this happens. It might happen though natural selection or it might happen though human gene tampering. But, like I said earlier, it will happen. I think this is one of the hang-ups for stem cell research that we will somehow play God and create new forms of human life. I understand the abortion angle, but these are never going to be formed as humans. Abortion is just the selling point for the masses. And I never hear right wing Christians oppose helping people have children.

Stem cell research though is really about making life better for Homo Sapien, not creating Homo Next. This is the fight we need to be focusing on with the religious right.