Mississippi Once Again Embarrasses Itself

Leave it to America's rural South to be both the home of leading liberal Democrats, as well as the last bastion of embarrassing religious bigotry. Are these bigots living in the dark ages? Don't they know about the Internet, TV, and that it's not 1955 any more?

Itawamba County in northern Mississippi is one of those places nobody has heard of. It has just over 20,000 residents total, and only three towns (the largest has 3,000 residents). Itawamba had only two claims to fame: Tammy Wynette, the wonderful country singer/songwriter, was born there, as was Delphia Spencer Hankin. What, you never heard of Mrs. Hankin? Why, she lived to be over 110 years old!

But this week Itawamba County got a new claim to fame when religious anti-gay intolerance and bigotry catapulted high-school student Constance McMillen into the national news. She wanted nothing more than to attend the high-school prom with her sweetheart like the rest of the students. The trouble is, her sweetheart is her girlfriend, and Constance wanted to wear a tuxedo.

Christian Rock and Roll: Memetic Evolution in Action

Here is another example of religion shooting itself in the foot. As one who studies religion as an evolutionary phenomenon, this one is fascinating, because it shows a branch of the "tree of descent" of religious factions that will likely go extinct due to being poorly adapted to the modern "ecology." Simply put, they're going extinct because they're losing the battle-of-the-fittest for survival.

A couple weeks ago, Tyler Frost was suspended from his Christian high school for the horrifying sin of attending his girlfriend's prom, where there would be (gasp) rock and roll music. The school's principal Tim England said "When the school committee ... set up the policy regarding dancing, I am confident that they had the principle of fleeing lustful situations in mind ...should a Christian place themselves at an event where young ladies will have low-cut dresses and be dancing in them."

Today, another news article caught my eye. What would Mr. England think of the Christian Rock Festival going on here in San Diego this weekend? This is a family-oriented event, yet ... they're playing rock and roll, teens are dancing, the girls are screaming when their favorite rock stars come on, and worst of all, it's a beautiful, sunny Memorial Day weekend here in San Diego, and you can just drive past the fairgrounds and see plenty of pretty teen girls in sexy shorts and tank tops, very attractive indeed. And you know those teen boys are going to be dancing with the girls, staring at their cleavage and their rear ends, and lusting, as teen boys do everywhere.

As a cultural evolutionist, one who studies culture, and religion in particular, using methods similar to Darwin's principles of evolution, this is a classic case study of evolution in action. On the one hand, you have Principal England's oppressive policies that alienate teens, who are pretty much hormone driven, not to mention that they are instinctively rebelling against parental authority, trying to establish their own adult identities. It's very easy for an adult to become the laughing-stock of the teenage crowd, which is exactly what Mr. England did with his puritanical, sanctimonious declarations about low-cut dresses, dancing, and rock music.

On the other hand, you have a group of Christians who recognize teens' love for rock music, for dancing, and for live concerts by the beach in the hot Southern California sunshine. Instead of pious prohibitions, this group embraces the kids' natural desires, and channels it into a healthy, family-oriented weekend of great music, hot dogs, carnival rides, dancing, and fun.

Which of these two philosophies, Principal England's, or the Christian Music Fair organizers', is more likely to become extinct in the next 100 years? This is evolution, memetic evolution, in action, and it sure is fun to watch.