Nothing says more about Americans preparing to enter into the next generation of real scientific research like entire states that decide that teaching Creationism should be protected.
http://legiscan.com/...
No school board or school administrator may prohibit a teacher in public or nonpublic school from providing instruction on intelligent design or other related topics
One sentence is all it takes. A sentence that changes the idea of what we teach in schools to turn public education from homes of education into places of indoctrination.
Let me say, right off the bat that I can listen to the viewpoint of those who are Christians who believe in Creationism. I can't respect the argument, nor should I be required to, but I can nod without yelling and screaming well enough.
But while I can accept the fact that they will teach whatever they want to teach in their churches an temples, the concept of reversing progress by denying science is a way to keep the US further and further out of pace with a global community that depends on scientific research and study to stay competitive.
The United States spent decades as the scientific leader, bringing jobs, high tech industry and digital revolutions to our economy.
South Dakota isn't alone
Here in Kansas, we went through this as well: http://www.bloomberg.com/...
Which was finally reversed
http://www.theguardian.com/...
But it is this constant fight - this complete waste of resources which keeps our students at a significant educational disadvantage with the rest of the world. We are repeating, re-organizing and changing the nature of what we teach as science in order to value a religious ideal. This isn't about disrespecting a religious ideal; no one is running into a church and screaming to stop them from teaching their flock. This is religious groups using their force of law to roll back the clock decades, centuries of science in order to maintain the kind of life they believe we deserve.
A life where the poor, public educated students out of rural communities are put at significant educational disadvantages in the name of upholding the faith, while those who have means, live in more progressive states are provided the tools that will help lead them to be the leaders of the next generation.
When you willingly subject yourself and your children to the idea that knowing less is a good thing, you setup generations of self inflicted economic damage, not just to you, but to the entire community that needs that next great bright idea of the future.