In an op-ed in Scotland’s The Journal, student Simon Mundy connects the flak over Michael Reiss to Matt Damon’s comments on Sarah Palin, pitying them both for being used by the intelligent design lobby (those cruelly powerful IDers!) and warning that ID “is coming perilously close to respectability.” Quell horreur! But the best is at the very end, where Mundy writes:
The right to a dissenting opinion lies at the heart of our society. But future generations will not thank us for undermining scientific theories that have been proven beyond all reasonable doubt.
In other words, we have a right to our dissenting opinion, just so long as it doesn’t undermine (I think Judge Jones would prefer the term “disparage,” actually) Darwinism.
Can’t you just see the astronomers coming after Copernicus, lining up and telling him in unison, “Hey, Copernicus, we support your right to think whatever you want, but it totally bites that you undermined Ptolemy. It was proven beyond all reasonable doubt before you came along!”