"Sound the trumpet,
beat the drum.
Everybody's come to town
To see your competition, monk.
Alive and breathing in the country cooler:
A high-school teacher- wild, untamed!" (18)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg1uXRhic24
How do individual rights and the good of society differ?
"We face a choice between a society where people accept modest sacrifices for a common good or a more contentious society where group selfishly protect their own benefits." (Robert J. Samuelson)
We as citizens are challenged to view ourselves as members of the same community and, while respecting and valuing the freedom of individuals to pursue their own goals, we still need to recognize and improve those goals which we have in common. The goal of equality.
Evolution vs. Creationism
John T. Scopes was teaching his class about evolution, and was convicted for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to a high school science class, contrary to a Tennessee state law that prohibited the teaching of anything besides creationism.
Evolution is the 
Matthew Harrison Brady - A national political figure who arrives in Hillsboro to lead the prosecution in Cates's trial. A Christian fundamentalist and Nebraska native, Brady defends the literal truth of the Bible against what he labels Cates's big-city agnosticism.
Henry Drummond - A famous lawyer from Chicago whom the Baltimore Herald sends to defend Cates. Drummond, a believer in human progress, argues for freedom of thought.
"Brady: Why is it, my old friend, that you have moved so far away from me?
Drummond: All motion is relative. Perhaps it is you who have moved away-- by standing still." (67)
This has a sharp impact on Brady.
Drummond, exposes the obvious contradictions of this viewpoint of the literal truth of the bible, much to Brady's embarrassment.
"This is not so much a literal view of Hillsboro as it is an impression of a sleepy, obscure country town about to be vigorously awakened." (3)
