by Steven Kent

“‘What should be taught in schools?’: The infamous ‘Scopes monkey trial’ turns 100”
—The Guardian

The fight was never human/ape/whatever,
But cut right to the chase of our democracy:
Are Church and State aligned? Is law the lever
By which the zealots push us toward theocracy?

Our Founders spelled it out with great precision:
Belief (or lack) free-chosen, not draconian,
Yet some now preach a very different vision,
Which sadly looks a lot less Jeffersonian.