Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

[strings playing

"all along the watchtower"]

Male announcer:
ladies

and gentlemen, welcome.

Today it is

my distinct pleasure

To introduce a man

who is recognized--

The battle over evolution

is only one skirmish

In a much larger war.

Science simply makes no use

of the hypothesis of god.

Ask yourself, what has

intelligent design given us?

Nothing.

We cannot accept

intelligent design

As an alternative

scientific theory.

They will never accept

that we have a better argument.

They just pester us,

and they waste our time.

Announcer:
...Variety

of topics, ranging from

economics, civil rights,

To how not to ruin your life

in ten easy steps.

Today, ben is speaking

on the topic

That has become

increasingly important

to him over recent years.

While ben has always been

an ardent supporter of science,

Lately he has noticed

an alarming trend

In the scientific

establishment

That could have

dire consequences

For every american.

Without further ado,

Please join me

in giving a warm welcome

For mr. Ben stein.

[audience applauding]

Ben stein:
thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very, very much.

Thank you.

Thank you very much,

everybody.

Thank you very much,

gangstas.

Thank you

very, very much.

Freedom is

the essence of america.

We're talking

about freedom of speech,

Freedom of assembly,

Freedom from fear,

freedom of religion.

Martin luther king said,

"america is

essentially a dream,"

And he said it is a dream

of freedom and equality.

Freedom is the way

to equality.

And america simply would

not be america without freedom.

In every turning point

in our history,

The decision has always

been about freedom.

[stein narrates]

freedom is what makes

this country great.

Freedom has allowed us

to create, to explore,

To overcome every challenge

we have faced as a nation.

But imagine if these freedoms

were taken away.

Where would we be?

What would we lose?

Well, unfortunately,

I no longer need to imagine.

It's happening.

We are losing our freedom

In one of the most important

sectors of society--

Science.

I have always assumed

That scientists were free

to ask any question,

To pursue

any line of inquiry

Without fear of reprisal,

But recently

i've been alarmed to discover

That this is not the case.

It all began when I met

Evolutionary biologist

richard sternberg

In washington, d.C.

His life was nearly ruined

When he strayed

from the party line

While serving as editor

of a scientific journal

Affiliated

with the prestigious

Smithsonian museum

of natural history.

Your office

was over there?

That's correct.

This here

is the west wing.

Directly ahead of us

is the west wing

Of the natural history

museum.

So now you're

not there anymore

Because you were

a bad boy.

No, i'm not.

No, I was exiled.

You were a bad boy.

You questioned

the powers that be.

[typewriter clacking]

What was

dr. Sternberg's crime?

He dared to publish an article

by dr. Stephen meyer,

One of the leading lights

Of the intelligent design

movement.

The paper ignited

a firestorm of controversy

Merely because it suggested

intelligent design

Might be able to explain

how life began.

As a result,

dr. Sternberg lost his office,

His political

and religious beliefs

were investigated,

And he was pressured

to resign.

The questioning

of darwinism

Was a bridge too far

for many.

The mentioning

of intelligent design

That occurs

at the end of the paper

was over the top.

And I think

the intelligent design

proponents

Have raised a number

of very important questions.

And you wanted to get

those questions

Brought up and discussed.

- placed on the table.

- placed on the table.

People were so upset

about it.

They were so upset

that you could see their--

They had a physical

emotional reaction.

Wow.

They were saying

That stephen c. Meyer

is a well-known christian,

That stephen c. Meyer

is an intelligent design

proponent,

That stephen c. Meyer

is a republican.

It was all couched

in terms of

Religion, politics,

and sociology.

The way the chair

of the department put it

Is that I was viewed

as an intellectual terrorist.

Terrorist?

Because of

giving the topic

Of intelligent design

some modicum of credibility.

What happened

to dr. Sternberg was terrible,

But surely it was

just an isolated case.

I was still

pretty skeptical,

So naturally

I checked in with the head

Of the skeptics society,

michael shermer.

So I can't prove

there is no god,

Or yahweh in your case,

Any more than I can prove

there is no isis, zeus,

Apollo, brahma, ganesha,

mithras, allah,

Or for that matter,

the flying spaghetti monster.

And think about just

one thing:

Why would the aliens

look like this?

- these are bipedal--

- king:
who drew that?

Shermer:
skepticism...

It's not a position you take.

It's just

an approach to claims.

This one's called

the borderlands of science:

where sense meets nonsense.

Is intelligent design

nonsense?

Well, it's unproven,

So in that sense

it's nonsense.

So I would put it

in the sort of shaded areas

Between good, solid science

and total nonsense.

You know, it's sort of

three quarters of the way

toward the nonsense side.

Stein:
but you think,

nevertheless,

People should be

allowed to speak about

And publish papers

about it.

They are free to write

and publish and be heard

In public forums

and go to conferences

Just like

everybody else does.

What if a person

published something,

say, at the smithsonian

In favor

of intelligent design

and lost his job over it?

I mean, it had been

peer-reviewed and published

And then he lost his job

over it anyway.

What about

that situation?

Well...I think

that particular situation,

There was something else

going on.

- what was going on?

- I don't know.

I mean, I don't know

because I don't know,

But I think there had

to be something.

People don't get fired

over something like that.

You roll up your sleeves,

you get to work,

You do the research,

you get your grants,

You get your data,

you publish,

And you work

your butt off,

And that's how you get

your theories taught--

What if you try and try

and roll up your sleeves

And go to work

and work your butt off,

And they say,

"we're going to fire you

If you even mention the word

intelligent design"?

I don't think that's happened.

Where is that happening?

Filmstrip narrator:

george mason university--

Throughout

its 50-year history,

Our mission

has remained clear--

To prepare a diverse

population of students

To think and to grow

In a climate of unbridled

academic freedom.

[typewriter clacking]

Stein:
after dr. Caroline

crocker simply mentioned

Intelligent design

in her cell biology class

At george mason university,

Her promising academic career

came to an abrupt end.

My supervisor invited me

into his office.

He said,

"i'm going to have

to discipline you

For teaching creationism."

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