Intelligent Design of stupid people

If "intelligent design" is responsible for the vast complexity of life on Earth, everything from shrimp, which according to one site God hates, to humans, then why did the "designer" a.k.a. God design and create such stupid people? Nightline covered this "controversy" last night pointing out that the brilliance in the marketing of the "man in the sky designed everything in a giant Santa's workshop," is in the "Teach the Controversy" slogan. Of course there is no controversy but Americans, who love to see themselves as fair-minded instead of intellectually lazy people, seem to buy into the "teach both sides" argument. Wonder if the "design" followers would like to teach both democracy and Wahhabism, ultra-strict Islam, as a way to govern the huddled design-fearing masses? There are after all different ways to run a country and we should teach them side by side and let the children decide which is better. Or let's teach sex with condoms along side abstinence only. Now there's a controversy to teach with books, charts and hopefully, videos. How about the sun revolves around the earth? That 400 year fight continues and we should, to be fair to both sides, teach the controversy. Let's not forget the Holocaust. Some misguided people think it actually happened while some "intelligently designed" ones think it is as much a hoax as well, say, creationism. Let's teach both sides to treat the "controversy" with respect.

Teach the controversy? How about just teach. Teach math. Teach physics. Teach computer science. Teach something where if you can't figure out the answer on the final exam "God did it" isn't the way to the Dean's list.

Nearly 400 years ago Galileo dealt with this church driven nonsense during the Inquisition and was threatened with torture, imprisonment, and death on the stake. He was forced to "abjure, curse and detest" his work and to promise to denounce others who held his prior viewpoint that the earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa. Although he did everything the church requested him to do he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Galileo faired better than Giordano Bruno who was burned at the stake in 1600 ostensibly for holding a naturalistic view of the Universe. Bruno denied the doctrine of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the immortality of the soul, among other heresies.

My only question is after "intelligent design" ends up on SAT exams and evolution becomes a quaint forgotten theory will the Department of Inquisition hold public trials or closed tribunals?

BONUS POST: Capt. Fogg at Human Voices, a prolific blogger, gives his own take on "intelligent design" here.