Ignorance is not bliss.

State Rep. Rick Brattin of Missouri proposed a bill that would allow parents to pull their children from the evolution theory portion of their school’s biology curriculum.

Apparently, developing critical and free-thinking adults is not an educational priority in the state of Missouri.

Instead, a premium is placed on the religious indoctrination of children at a young age, preventing them from forming their own educated opinions.

But, after all, in this democratic society that Brattin dedicates his career to, the ability to seek understanding in order to construct an informed outlook on a particular idea is not as important as traditional values, right?

These could be the same traditional values that prompted Missouri to show up as a hotspot on Humboldt State University’s twitter-powered Hate Map, according to Time. Or maybe they’re the same values that spurred a modern-day minstrel show at the Missouri State Fair starring a man in a disturbingly chummy Barrack Obama mask last August, according to an article by the Associated Press.

Regardless, the children affected by this bill will now be protected from the toxic idea of evolution.

God-forbid the children stop to consider that maybe the theory of evolution is, as it stands, a theory.  Or maybe if God created the system and laws of nature and physics, he could have had a logical process for the creation of man.  

Despite Brattin’s best efforts, state Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook of Kansas refuses to be out-done by the state of Missouri.

Pilcher-Cook recently proposed a bill that would require parent consent in order for children to participate in sexual education courses.

One might worry how wide-eyed Kansas children will learn the joys and dangers of intercourse, and especially if the parents who keep the information from them supplement such knowledge by imploring abstinence until marriage.

Experience may not be the best way to learn these risks and measures. It could also work out just fine. I mean, it’s not as if children commonly rebel against their parents or explore with an inherent curiosity, right?

At any measure, Kansas seems to be putting forth a concerted effort to make its state the Bible Belt buckle of the American South. Belt-wielding disciplinarians can look forward to Kansas state Rep. Gail Finney’s recently proposed bill seeking to allow bruise-inducing child-spanking, although parents would have to use an open hand.

The Kansas House actually passed a bill on Feb. 11 that would allow public and private companies to refuse service to gay couples under the pretense of religious freedom, according to CNN. That’s right. The scenario for such a bill in action looks something like this: a couple of tax-paying, law-abiding, rather well-groomed men walk into their local Wichita deli for lunch. The owner assesses the hungry same-sex couple looking to support a local business and asks “What would Jesus do?” The owner then lawfully orders the couple to leave because gays are not served in that establishment.

This is the kind of legislation that gets legitimately considered when children are raised to adults harboring closed minds. 

Children should not have to fall victim to the traditional values of their predecessors.

In today’s rapidly evolving America, we should allow our nation’s children to be there step-for-step with the change despite their forefathers’ anti-evolution reservations.

– Fletcher Bailey is a junior communication major from Seattle. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.