To
further develop your thinking from today’s class, read the excerpt below. This excerpt is by a writer named H.L. Mencken who, among other things, reported on the Scopes Monkey Trial, the subject of Inherit the Wind.
Read his controversial creed copied below and respond to it in a well-written paragraph. Your response might capture your reaction to his creed and the extent to which you agree or disagree with it. Consider also how this creed relates to the ideas about fact v. opinion we discussed in class today.
Use your response as a way to dialogue in an appropriate way with the your classmates about this topic.
Your response will receive a writing grade. Accordingly, it should demonstrate understanding of effective paragraph writing, beginning with a topic sentence, supporting your thinking with at least 3 details, and ending with a concluding sentence. Be sure to also proofread your work.
I
believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind - that
its modest and
greatly overestimated services on the
ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage
it has done to clear and honest thinking.
I
believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to
the race, and that
no trumpeting of falsehood, however
virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.
I
believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily
make war upon
liberty...
I
believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of
witches, and
deserves no more respect.
I
believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech...
I
believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is
made of, and
how it is run.
I
believe in the reality of progress.
I
- But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is
better to tell the
truth than to lie. I believe that it is
better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is
better to know than be ignorant.
