To the editor:

An article in the Feb. 12 issue of the Lawrence Journal-World provides a wonderful example of community goodwill and the power of a compassionate individual. I’m referring to Larry Midyett’s efforts to assist tenants living on property his real estate agency plans to develop. He not only helps these people find new (and better) housing, but then pays the moving costs for those unable to move themselves.

Mr. Midyett’s actions speak to morality and human dignity with far more authenticity than recent strident demands for a return to the fearful notions prevalent in the Dark Ages. In the Feb. 7 Journal-World, a spokesman for The Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Assn. declares that the teaching of evolution has led directly to the evil threat of same-sex marriage and the inevitable disintegration of society.

The Comment page of the Sunday J-W presents the argument for teaching “intelligent design” by asserting that extraordinary advances in scientific knowledge serve as proof(?) of the existence of a Creator, rather than as stimulus for further exploration. Leaving the answers to a master being is to deny our thirst for knowledge that has opened our eyes to increasingly complex systems and produced, for example, the benefits of modern medicine.

Thank you, Mr. Midyett, for demonstrating the best of human nature to offset the dangerously absurd, and thanks to the Journal-World for giving the story front-page coverage.

Lisa Bailey,

Lawrence