pay for it. Today in the United States,nstatistics abound which show the deleteriousneffect of excessive sociahsm: innthe soaring rate of illegitimate birthsnand one-parent families, in the numbernof “third generation welfare andnproud of it” loafers, in abandonednhousing projects which became instantnslums when completed, in waste,nfraud, malfeasance, and misfeasancenat every level of the bureaucracy.nMoreover, the taxes which supportnthis system have discouraged the worknincentive at the individual level whilenencouraging tax avoidance, whichnthrows an extra burden on the honestntaxpayer. In addition, this socialisticnapproach to government has led to sonmany demands for public largess thatneven excessive taxes cannot pay for it.nThe result has been runaway Federalndeficits mounting toward fiscal chaosn—which in the end will hurt mostnthose whom the socialists claim theynwant to help: the needy.nIn short, enacting philanthropy intonstate and Federal legislation has turnednthe whole Sermon on the Mount intonan exercise in white vice. ccnOdie Faulk is a distinguished Southwesternnhistorian and contributingneditor.nLetter From thenLower Rightnby John Shelton ReednScience and ReligionnI gather that the Texas Board of Educationnhas done something commendable,nbut I don’t know exactiy whatnbecause the Washington Post (mynsource) was too busy deploring it tondescribe it. I assume it was somethingngreat because it reduced the Post tonstammering incoherence. “Unbelievable”nwas only the beginning; “worsenthan silly . . . dishonest, futile, andnstupid” were among the high points.nApparently the board adopted “regulationsnallowing youngsters to graduatenfrom high school without evernhaving heard of Charles Darwin or thentheory of evolution.” Actually, if that’snall they don’t know, they’ll be betternoff than most high school graduates innany state I’m familiar with. Wondernhow many D.C. high schoolers couldnidentify Darwin or give an accuratenprecis of his theory?nThe Posf’s editors ought to explainnwhy this particular lacuna is so distressing.nWould they be equally upsetnby a ruling that graduates need notn”have heard” of Jesus and His theorynof redemphon?nSomeone needs to point out, first,nthat we do not have a national educationalnsystem; second, that if states andnlocalities are going to support publicnschools in the first place, they shouldndecide what is to be taught; third, thatnthey should have the right to makeneven foolish decisions.n* * *nAnyway, there’s good news fromnMIT for creation scientists. Dr.nHyman Hartman, a meteorologist, hasnsuggested that there are some problemsnwith the theory of the origin of lifensupported by most of his colleagues:nthat life originated from organic compoundsnformed by lightning in annammonia-methane atmosphere.nHartman believes that the earth’snatmosphere was nitrogen, water, andncarbon dioxide (like that of Marsntoday); if so, lightning wouldn’t do thentrick. He thinks the crucial reactionnwas between carbon dioxide and ansubstance called montmorillonite, innthe presence of ultraviolet light.nWhat is montmorillonite? Well, it’sna kind of. . . Well, you see, it’s . . .nWhat it is, is clay.n* * *nAt the grass roots, American ingenuitynstill contrives to frustrate Federalnmeddlers. The non-Communist publicncontinues to pray more or less atnwill, out of school or in it.nSince most non-Communist Americansnseem to be in the South, ornmoving to it, the school prayer issuennecessarily has a regional tinge. All thenexamples of defiance reported in anrecent Wall Street Journal article camenfrom Dixie. In Liberty, Kentucky, forninstance, a school forbidden to postnthe Ten Commandments in classroomsnposted instead a page from thenCongressional Record—on whichnwere found the Ten Commandments.nIn North Carolina, a survey estimatesnthat 18 percent of all public schoolsnignore the Supreme Court’s usurpationnand offer daily prayer anyway.nnnWhen prayers are outlawed, onlynoutiaws will say prayers. (Didn’t wenlearn anything from Prohibition?)nBootleg prayer seems to be prettynmuch a Southern phenomenon, butnother folks don’t like being pushednaround either. In Winnipeg, where annew law requires all restaurants thatnseat more than 30 people to provide annonsmoking section, restaurateurnTony Rambone has designated hisnfront veranda as the nonsmokingnsection—not unaware of the fact thatntemperatures there are typically wellnbelow freezing.nIn this country, of course, antismokingnlaws have been pioneered bynSan Francisco, home of Sister Boom-nBoom and the 1984 Democratic Convention.nLeave it to the modern DemocraticnParty to meet in a city thatnregards smoking—and little else—asna crime against nature. Mama alwaysnsaid you don’t have to drink and smokento have a good time, but I don’t thinknSan Francisco is what she had innmind.n* * *nWhen my wife ventured out tonMarin County recently, she camenback with a copy of the local newspaper.nThe Sun. All I know is what I readnin the paper: “The Church of thenHealing Hands” advertises a Fridaynightnhot tub liturgy. The Institute ofnColonic Hygiene announces that itnhas changed its name to the InnernBeauty Institute. (It offers somethingncalled “full body facials.”)nSouthern California seems onlynmarginally less weird. Dr. RobertnFranklyn, a Los Angeles plastic surgeonnwho, in 1952, pioneered augmentationnmammaplasty (b**b jobs,nas they’re known in these parts), claimsnthat “we’re 10 to 15 years ahead of thenEast Coast.” Dr. Michael Hogan, annNYU plastic doc, agrees. His WestnCoast colleagues routinely use implantsnthree times larger than the onesncommon in the East. Where’s RalphnNader when you need him?nLook. If we can’t secede, can wenkick them out? ccnJohn Shelton Reed has written fornScience, The Public Interest, ThenVirginia Quarterly Review, and ThenBaker Street Journal.nJANUARY 1986 / 45n