History: Faribault, Minn.: The Science Of Dissent

In a six-page "Position Paper on the Teaching of Evolution," LeVake pledges to teach evolution while also taking "an honest look at the difficulties and inconsistencies of the theory." He lists examples of irreducible complexity in nature for which, he says, Darwin has no explanation, such as the eggshell and the woodpecker's tongue. LeVake cites "the amazing lack of transitional forms in the fossil record. There has never been a creature discovered that could be considered a logical intermediate of any two major classes of animals or plants."

He sounds reasonable, but reputable scientists who agree with LeVake can be counted on one hand. "There are transitional fossils out the ying-yang," says Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education. "The problem is [antievolutionists] will never tell you what they would accept as a transitional fossil." Scott, one of the school district's expert witnesses against LeVake, says, "If you look at the content of his curriculum guide, it's the same thing that five years ago they called creation science. He's just left out the C word." Indeed, creationists have become a lot more shrewd. For years they'd propose antievolution laws and lesson plans brimming with religious language, and for years their cases were struck down on constitutional grounds. But creationists have evolved. Like LeVake, they began co-opting the logic of Darwinists and speaking in a softer voice. In fact, LeVake's case has barely stirred blue-collar Faribault (pop. 19,177). This is Minnesota, after all, and as just about anyone here will tell you, Minnesotans are nice. Laura Cesafsky, a recent Faribault High graduate who calls herself a proud liberal, wrote an editorial in the school paper decrying creationism but avoided using LeVake's name. She agrees that "he's a great guy." That helps explain why, even if he ultimately loses, LeVake isn't going anywhere. He and his family have found their place in the universe. "We're real Faribault people."