Will Iowa ‘Inherit the Wind?’

On a recent afternoon I had the pleasure of watching Spencer Tracy and Fredric March in Stanley Kramer’s 1960 tour de force, “Inherit the Wind.” The film is a dramatization of the Scopes Monkey Trial from Tennessee in 1925. Formally "The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes," the trial resulted from high school teacher John Scopes’ arrest for teaching evolution, which was illegal.

Given Iowa’s current political climate, I wondered aloud if a version of the “Monkey Trial” might be repeated here. In our case, a public school teacher might face legal action in two ways. One could be teaching a “controversial” science concept like climate change, the efficacy of vaccinations, or although almost 100 years removed from “Scopes,” the study of evolution.

Another danger could be showing “Inherit the Wind” in a social studies or English class. Some parents may see the film as glorifying disrespect for religion, governmental and parental authority, and move them to demand schools ban the film completely. It wouldn’t be surprising to see our governor and Republican leaders legislate that the arguments made by both attorneys in the film be treated as equally valid, as there were “good people on both sides.”

The film's title comes from Proverbs 11:29: “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." Perhaps sometime soon Iowa’s political leaders will understand what the Bible verse and the film were trying to say.

Marc McCoy

Cedar Rapids