I just recieved this email from the Institute of Humanist studies, looking for donations for their Darwin Day 2009 goal of keeping public school science classes about science, not superstition.  Please consider donating, if you are able.

Darwin Day 2009: Keep Science Education Scientific

September 17, 2008

Dear IHS Supporter:

Please Donate to help us with our new project: Darwin Day.

Darwin Day is a global celebration of science and evolution on the birthday anniversary of Charles Darwin.

The Darwin Day Celebration is now administered by the Institute for Humanist Studies. We are very excited because February 12, 2009 is the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth. We will assist groups throughout the world with their plans and events to mark this day.

Our staff is currently working feverishly to redesign and upgrade the Darwin Day website. We are packing in as many features as we can so groups around the world can easily use the site to plan and promote their events. Included in the new features will be: a list of potential Darwin Day performers; a streamlined events listing; a way to share photographs; instructions on how to issue a press release; and guidelines on how to get your local government to proclaim Feb. 12 as Darwin Day in your community.

In the future we hope to hire a Darwin Day coordinator to focus solely on establishing Darwin Day as a yearly secular holiday celebrating reason and science.

What can you do to help?

Your donations now will help us achieve our goal of promoting science, reason and evolutionary theory. Now is the time to give. The bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth is a major opportunity to strengthen our efforts to keep science education scientific.

Please give what you can: http://humaniststudies.org/support.html

As always we are very grateful for you support,

Nancy Buxton
Development Coordinator

If you prefer to mail your donation, download our donor form here: http://humaniststudies.org/ihs_donorForm.pdf

Please mail your completed form and donation to:
Institute for Humanist Studies
48 Howard Street
Albany, NY 12207

We, the non-religious in America, as a (loosely defined) group commonly discriminated against simply for asserting our First Amendment rights, have a vested interest in protecting said rights.  How is this possible when poll after poll show a disturbing lack of understanding and interest in even the most integral of these?

Although the 2006 poll from Chicago’s McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum doesn’t specifically mention the establishment clause or religion, it’s sad to see that the overall understanding of the First Amendment is so weak.  According to the poll (if accurate), 20 percent of Americans think the First Amendment allows us the right to own a pet.  At this point I seriously considered that this was some sort of April Fools joke, but looking at the date of the Washington Post article mentioning it, it’s not.  All the more depressing.  As they report:

28 percent know more than one of the five fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment: the freedoms of religion and speech; of the press; to assemble peaceably; and to petition for redress of grievances.

I don’t know about you, but I am of the opinion that when not much more than a quarter of those questioned could name even two of our fundamental freedoms, something is seriously wrong.

All is not lost, though!  I am happy to relay that the Washington Post has reported:

52 percent of Americans can name at least two main characters in “The Simpsons” television show, and 22 percent can name all five (Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie).

At least something is right with the country!

That reads as depressing, but don’t worry.  The non-religious community is making headway all the time in our struggle for equality.  The progress we are making is greater every year; and I don’t see it stopping any time soon.  Still, we must not forget that we are nowhere near an end in this struggle.  As in every civil rights movement, we need a drastic change in the national ideology.  As American history shows us, such a change is never quick or easy.

At the end of the article is a good short interview with Supreme Court Justice Breyer about educating public school students in civics and the Constitution.