Critical Analysis: “Expelled”

Ben Stein’s “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” was very quick to suck me in. Even watching it a second time, I was impressed with the composition and the structure of the film. The makers of the documentary play on emotion very effectively both with visuals and the soundtrack. It presents heavy subjects and takes them seriously, and at one point it had me thinking so heavily on several issues that I completely missed a few of the test answers. I believe that is what a good documentary should do; make you think and examine subjects you otherwise wouldn’t have considered. Still, even with all the good it did me, the film left me with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth.

Stein is clearly using the documentary to push forward his own agenda. That’s what these things are for, after all. Still, I felt that he was a little too sensationalist in how he portrayed the “evils” of big science. Comparing the censoring of Intelligent Design to the Nazi regime was a bit much. I understand that Stein is Jewish, and such things are prominent in his mind, but wouldn’t that be the exact reason not to make such a connection? It’s almost as if he’s making light of genocide. It may be true that the higher-ups are trying to censor ideas they don’t agree with, but no one is killing for Darwin (to my knowledge). He tries to further imply that Darwinism is dangerous with a link directly to Hitler, because obviously the people most likely to commit genocide are those that don’t believe in anything more intelligent or higher than themselves. I’ve seen claims that Hitler was a Christian, an Atheist, a Jew… Atheists can blame the Holocaust on the Bible just as much as Christians can blame it on a lack of beliefs, I’m sure. Either way he was a man with strong convictions and the hope that he could “purify” his species. The comparison to the wall dividing Berlin was much more accurate in portraying Stein’s message.

The point of “Expelled” is that big science is fighting against the theory of Intelligent Design. According to intelligentdesign.org,

The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. Through the study and analysis of a system's components, a design theorist is able to determine whether various natural structures are the product of chance, natural law, intelligent design, or some combination thereof.

That same website claims that I.D. is not Creationism, which is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a doctrine or theory holding that matter, the various forms of life, and the world were created by God.” Now, the only way I.D. might be considered anything other than Creationism is if a person believes the Designer to be of a terrestrial (whether extra or otherwise), rather than supernatural, origin.

The most common belief for those that don’t believe in Creationism and/or Intelligent Design seems to be Darwinism, which is

… a theory of the origin and perpetuation of new species of animals and plants that offspring of a given organism vary, that natural selection favors the survival of some of these variations over others, that new species have arisen and may continue to arise by these processes, and that widely divergent groups of plants and animals have arisen from the same ancestors; broadly : a theory of biological evolution (Merriam-Webster).

So, to put it simply, the difference between Darwinism and Intelligent Design is that one is guided purely by nature, and the other is guided by an entity. Both sides see how species have changed over the millennia, they just argue over the how and why. This is an argument that has no end, though. After all, if there is a Designer, once you find him/her/it… how did they come into being? Therefore, I find it difficult to understand why just mentioning Intelligent Design as a possible theory is getting people sacked. It’s so typical for humans to shut down and toss out those that don’t believe exactly as they do. People claim to be open-minded, especially in fields like science, but then they get riled up over two words and a difference in origin that, with as little as we know about everything, doesn’t make much difference in how science will progress. Future scientists aren’t going to stop making cures for diseases. NASA won’t stop sending people into space. Johnson & Johnson won’t stop trying making their chemicals greener. Humans won’t stop learning and wondering and imagining just because they believe in I.D.

America is supposed to be the one place that will always allow and support diversity. That means a person of any race, background, religion, or social status has the ability to speak their minds and believe what they want to believe, even if others don’t agree. So why are Americans being punished for mentioning the fact that there are different ideas? Ben Stein is right in bringing this problem to light because, we, as a species, should be past the point of stomping out that which is different to what we’ve always “known” to be true. Everyone involved in the discussion needs to remember that all we have are theories about the origin of life, and that we know very little about so much.

REFERENCES

"Creationism." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.

"Darwinism." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.

"Definition of Intelligent Design." Intelligent Design. Discovery Institute, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.

Changes and a New Direction

It's been quite a while since I made my last post here. Since then I've gotten back into school (I'm in my second semester now) and moved back to Oklahoma. Right now I'm procrastinating because I've got a paper due tomorrow that I won't have time to do at home, so I'm sitting in the break room at work doing it. It's difficult to focus on something like this when there are people around, though. When it comes to my own writing, I have no problem with chattering or movement around me. It works as white noise that keeps me in my zone. With homework, though... ugh. It may have been a mistake to fill up my schedule, but I didn't really have a choice. I can't live off student loans, after all.
So, the whole point of this is to give myself a space to brainstorm, put ideas out there, and do other school stuff. I'd like to be able to post my writing and papers and get some feedback. I'm considering deleting all the old drivel from this blog and focusing it more on my academics.

Jensen Ackles

Eye of the Tiger

Jensen Ackles plays Dean in Supernatural, my current favorite show. His costar is Jared Padalecki, who plays Dean's little brother Sam. On the show, Dean tends to be the funny one, always spitting out one liners and puns that make me giggle, while Sam is more subdued and serious about situations. In real life, I find it funny that Jared the joker while Jensen is a bit more mature. :]

They're both pretty dang funny, though.

Harvelle

So, I haven't quite kept up the whole blog every day thing, but this week has been funky. Most evenings I got to Louie's house to watch Big Bang Theory or Supernatural, and when I'm not over there I'm goofing around or watching home improvement shows with the Johnsons.
I can't wait to get my own place. No offence to my sister, but I'm the independent type, and I miss my solitude. It has been nice to get some of that closeness back, though.
I made a new friend at work, and his name is Bret. I was standing at Louie's cube one day and mentioned my favorite show, Supernatural, and Bret popped up like "Yay, best friend!" only in a less gay way than you'd think... yeah. He and his brother are the Winchesters, Bret being Sam. I haven't met Dean yet, but I've been named Ellen. I kinda get it, but at the same time... eh. Better than Jessica, who dies in the first episode! Unfortunately Sam is in the hospital and was supposed to have surgery today. I'm a bit worried because he hasn't texted me, but I'm figuring he's probably pretty out of it, so I'll harrass him on Saturday if I don't hear anything by then.
By the way, Louie has been named Ash. He doesn't know who Ash is, but I think when he gets far enough in the series he'll get a kick out of it. Come to think of it, I haven't met our Bobby yet either. Hmm...
Anyway, I'm headed to Oklahoma tomorrow afternoon. I plan on leaving work, getting gas and a quick window wash, and starting south. I have to wait until my laundry is done so I can finish packing before I can go to bed. *sigh*

John Winchester

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with Supernatural, a show on the CW. I was browsing the discussions of Supernatural on Facebook, and ran across a post about John Winchester being the vessel of God. If anyone reads this, I'd like your opinions!

This is the post that someone made:

"First of all i want everybody to know that what i say here is strictly from a Christian perspective (dont start hating on me because i have a religion im passionate about).

"But God appearing as John? God wouldn't need a vessel, He's omnipotent and the Creator of everything! Do you think that He'd need to ask permission? Also for all of you saying Mary (im expecting some hate for this), but God created Adam first, He created man in His image, why then would he appear as a woman? Again, im not trying to be sexist, but any reasonable Christian has to assume this. And for Bobby, why Bobby? Sure he's knowledgable, but it doesn't make logical sense that God's vessel would become paraplegic or be possessed by a demon (do you honestly think a body that holy would allow a demon inside?)."

This is my reply to that dude.

"Don't think I'm flaming you or anything, but these are my opinions.
"I think God may need a vessel. He is omnipotent and much more powerful than the angels. Don't forget that most humans can't look at angels! Why would any human be able to look upon the face of God?
On the paraplegic comment... do you think Bobby would STAY that way while GOD was in him? And yes, you do sound sexist. Oh WAIT the whole religion is interpreted by MEN to BE sexist! *gasp*
God created everything. Do men create life? No so much. They just lend a hand (er... you get what I mean). There are plenty of groups out there that have opened up to the possibility that God is a woman. God created humans to be similar to him, I.E. limbs, heads, faces, etc. Man is a collective term, not necessarily referring to males.
"'As it is in Heaven, so shall it be on Earth."- The Arch Angel Gabriel

"Dean and Sam are brothers. Michael and Lucifer are brothers. It makes sense to reasonable people that the Winchesters' father could be the vessel of the Angels' father. Bobby is a father figure so it makes sense, but not as much as John being the vessel.
"Why would it matter that John was possessed once? Castiel told Jimmy that being a vessel is in his blood. Meaning that it was determined before he was considered "needed." If it's in the blood for Dean and Sam, it's most likely in the blood for John as well. The angels can bring people back to life, so the fact that John is dead isn't an issue.
"God doesn't need things to be holy. He can TOUCH the damned thing and it would become holy. Come on!"

Anyone else have an opinion?

Music

Kay, so... I've been wanting to find a band to sing with. I figured, what the heck? I might as well post an ad on craigslist and see what comes up! Then, maybe I would post my voice online somewhere. Myspace didn't work. Apparently, there's no way to post it here, either. I'm checking Facebook, but it looks like unless I wanna learn some HTML I've got no chance. :(

Job Scams

For the past few months I've been job searching. I go out and ask for applications, I go through the phonebook to call and ask who's hiring, and I have profiles on several career websites. One thing I'm starting to realize, especially with careerbuilder.com, is that you can pretty much delete any job offers you get via email.
People send emails saying they've looked at your CV and think you're qualified for this position. It sounds like a real job, the pay isn't too good to be true, and it all seems legit. Until you try to talk to someone. I got a job offer from a company called Bat-Tour, and decided to google it. I didn't find much, because apparently they used to go by Petra-Tour. It's a check cashing scam. I want to know why careerbuilder and other sites are letting these people through. Granted, I know there are a lot of people and profiles on those sites, but COME ON! Sometimes I'll get two or three emails a day. Thankfully, most of the job sites have a "report fraud" or similar option. I'm definitely using it!
I found a site that has a bunch of information about scams and fraud. It's got fake emails, job scams, get-rich-quick schemes, and plenty of other warnings and articles. What's really cool is that anyone can send in a scam that isn't on there yet. Of course, good luck finding one someone hasn't posted yet. :)

And so, I continue my quest for employment. I'm slightly afraid to go outside in my little Grand Prix. If my sister's van gets stuck in the snow, how the heck am I supposed to get around? First thing I'm getting when I have a steady income: a truck! :D