Science isn’t partisan, but Florida’s textbooks are treating it like it is | Letters

Fools in charge

Many of us remember the 1960 film, “Inherit the Wind,” which dramatized the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial.” The movie should be required viewing for Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies, as they seek to re-edit schoolbooks and educational materials to minimize or eliminate references to climate change.

The film’s lesson remains relevant. An educator was put on trial for teaching evolution because it conflicted with prevailing religious and political beliefs. Today, we see the same fundamental problem: ideology influencing what children are taught about established science.

This is not a partisan issue. Science does not belong to Democrats or Republicans. The evidence that our planet is warming — and that human activity is a major contributor — is overwhelming. If anyone still doubts that evidence, the catastrophic events occurring around the world are not abstract predictions; they are happening now and are the devastating consequences of a warming planet.

We owe our children an education based on evidence and truth, not political convenience. We should teach them to question, investigate and think critically — not manipulate science to fit an ideology. History should teach us better.

Robert Kemper,

Pinecrest

Cut and run

The U.S. has lost its “juice” in the Middle East. We do not have enough weaponry to defend our Arab allies. We cannot inflict enough pain on Iran to cause it to stand down. At best, we have a stalemate.

The incoming Congress, once it turns blue, must cut off funds for President Trump’s War. Let the regional powers sort things out. It really is a regional issue, not ours.

Edward Gelber,

Coral Gables

Holy words

In this season of repentance, forgiveness is in the air. But is forgiveness even possible if forgetting is not part of the Yom Kippur equation?

As part of the run-up to the High Holidays, a fellow synagogue member said one of her favorite things about Judaism is arguing with God: “From Abraham to Tevye, this is part of our tradition.”

I don’t bargain with God and would feel guilty blaming God for any misfortunes, from my father’s Mesothelioma death (he was a WW II citizen-sailor at the Brooklyn Navy Yards) to the millions who died at Hitler’s hand.

The toughest to negotiate is that God is supposed to be omnipotent. (Wouldn’t God be able to prevent the awful, the evil?). I have come to a not-so-peaceful resolution that my God can’t be omnipotent because the Holocaust happened.

Miami Herald Neighbors columnist Bea Hines has written often about forgiveness. Her advice was translucent in its clarity. Surely, I had regretted some things, no? Well, yes! And God has forgiven me, right? So, how could I not forgive others?

The traditional liturgy recounts who shall live and who shall die. It’s not a biblical metaphor to read “who by earthquake…” after Surfside friends died in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in 2021.

Did an omnipotent presence allow that middle-of-the-night horror to happen?

During this season of repentance and atonement, I’ll buy the concept of forgiveness; forgetting, though, is not such an easy transaction.

Norma A. Orovitz,

Bay Harbor Islands

No explainer?

I subscribe to the Miami Herald and the New York Times. Good thing, because if I had only read the Herald, I never would have been able to read about the deep job cuts McClatchy made to newspapers it owns, including the Miami Herald.

Shame on the Herald for not running its own article on this topic. Moreover, McClatchy owes those of us who subscribe to one of its papers an explanation for why it took this action.

Drew Fishel,

Coral Gables

Petty lawsuit

Florida should step back from the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit because continuing to support it undermines the rights and dignity of people with disabilities in our state. The lawsuit seeks to weaken Section 504 protections — rules that ensure disabled Floridians can receive services in integrated, community‑based settings rather than being pushed toward institutions.

These protections are not federal overreach; they are civil rights guarantees that have helped thousands of families live fuller, safer, more independent lives.

Florida gains nothing by staying tethered to a challenge that is out of step with national disability rights standards and the bipartisan consensus that people should not be institutionalized when community support is available.

Most importantly, withdrawing would send a clear message: Florida stands with its residents who rely on community-based care, accessible healthcare, modern medical equipment and nondiscriminatory treatment. We should strengthen these protections, not join efforts to dismantle them.

Florida can choose common sense and compassion and withdraw from Texas v. Kennedy now.

Bradley Hunt,

Pensacola

Secure vote

If Donald Trump lost the 2020 election due to voter fraud, how did he win in 2024?

Nothing changed in our voting system.

Nancy Cogen,

Miami

Unlearning reality

That Florida’s Department of Education changed the science academic teaching standards to meet their political and greedy needs is appalling and mind-blowing. In Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Free State,” Florida’s teachers are restricted from teaching the truth about the effects of climate change and global warming.

The frequent and devastating floods in the South and Midwest; brush fires in the Everglades; unbearable heat nationwide; record-breaking heat throughout Europe; drying lakes and rivers; glaciers melting in Nepal (causing thousands to die); and Arctic glaciers melting, depriving wildlife of their habitats, are all factual scientific effects caused by global warming.

In DeSantis’ fake free state, students are forced to look the other way while climate change sets their state, country and world ablaze.

Mayade Ersoff,

Palmetto Bay