Summary Of Concerned Citizen By Bobby Henderson

In his satirical letter titled “Concerned Citizen” (2005), Bobby Henderson challenges the growing belief that the theory of intelligent design should be added to the school curriculum. Henderson achieves this through juxtaposing the Flying Spaghetti Monster with Intelligent design, expressing doubt in a disingenuous manner, and alluding to the Flying Spaghetti monster representing Christianity. Ultimately, moving his audience of Kansas school board members to question the idea of including the theory of intelligent design in the school curriculum. Henderson begins his letter by introducing his belief that the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the Universe, depicting the story of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a way that strikingly resembles

Consequently, school board members will be apprehensive when it comes to including intelligent design in school curriculums. Throughout the letter to the Kansas State Board of Education, Henderson compares intelligent design with the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so as to diminish the reason behind including intelligent design in school curricula. “But what our scientist does not realize is that every time he makes a measurement, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is there changing the results with His Noodly Appendage.” Henderson includes this, not because he truly believes that there is a flying spaghetti monster altering scientific research, but to highlight the stupidity of his belief. Consequently, the school board will be forced not to teach about Intelligent Design because that would also mean teaching about the absurdities of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. Henderson finishes the letter by expressing doubt in an insincere way in order to illustrate the naivety of including the theory of intelligent design in school