Archive for the 'The Historians Way' Category

Evolution Theory and the Early European Naturalists

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

A handful of the great natural scientists, struck by the almost imperceptible difference among various species, and the numerous similarities that exist between the most dissimilar forms of animals and plants.These scientists also discovered that a great many species do diverge substantially in their forms, colors, and habits. They thus put forth the theory that the individuals in a species might be all evolved from one another. The most eminent of these early scientists was a great French naturalist, Lamarck, who composed a detailed work in which he endeavored to prove that all animals — all species — are descended from common ancestry.

Lamarck attributed the change of species mainly to the fact of changes in the conditions of life and additionally to the desires and efforts of the animals themselves to improve their condition, leading to a modification of traits and characteristics, owing to the noted biological law that all organs are strengthened by constant use, while they are impaired or even entirely lost by disuse. The statements of Lamarck did not gratify many of his colleagues, and though some embraced the position that closely related species had descended from one another, the standard opinion of the educated public was that each species was a “special creation” quite independent of all others. At the same time, most naturalists equally held that the difference from one species to another for any reason was impossible, and that the “origin of species” was an unresolved and probably insolvable problem.

Another important work dealing with the theory of common ancestry was the renowned Vestiges of Creation, written anonymously, but now understood to have been written by the late Robert Chambers. In this work, the process of natural laws was observed throughout the universe as a system of growth and maturation, and it was contended that the distinct species of animals and plants had emerged in orderly chronological succession from each other by the natural process of unfamiliar laws of evolution assisted by the action of environmental factors. Although Chamber’s book had a significant effect in influencing common opinion as to the extreme improbability of the doctrine of the independent “special creation” of each species, it had slim effect upon the belief of naturalists, because it made no effort to deal with the issue in detail, or to show in any single case how the allied species of a genus could have arisen.

At present, in the evolution creationism debate, the matter of “special creation” is maintained unilaterally and quite ferociously by creationists as an irrefutable law — not only of nature, but of God. Divine laws are not to be argued with, and thus, the evolution creationism debate continues to languish in an impasse.

The famous masterpiece Michelangelo Adam and God is a symbol of the specialness of man in the eyes of creation theory adherents.

PepsiCo Foundation Gives $1 Million to Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Ken Mehlman is a proud member of the Executive Leadership Cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial. His activism on behalf of the MLK Memorial reflects Ken Mehlman’s ongoing efforts to make the Republican Party and converatism more inclusive in nature. While other politicians practice divisive politics, Ken Mehlman is working on empowering others through conservative politics and promoting racial harmony.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial is a program started by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, where King was a member himself. This monument was approved before the law on March 28, 1998, and was highly publicized. Before actually erecting the monument, the program has been expanding, accepting donations from various companies and getting funding from different people in the government. They started the project to gather funds and establish a memorial to honor King’s national and international contributions to world peace through peaceful social change.

Being one of the largest food and beverage companies, PepsiCo donated $1M for the building of the historical monument. This increases the total fund raise of $59M. A total of $100 million is needed to complete the project.

In January 2006, former chairman of the Republican National Committee Ken Mehlman was appointed a member of the memorial’s board. Ken Mehlman was also campaign manager to former president George Bush’s run in 2004.

Ken Mehlman issued a press release in Washington the same month. The press release revealed the Republican National Committee’s commitment to continuing and keeping King’s legacy and dreams alive. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall is just one way of living the great leader’s dream of justice and equality.