The New Creationists are still bitter foes of evolution, but their educational backgrounds, knowledge of evolution, and political and rhetorical tactics have greatly improved. We can focus on this and not necessarily on the more difficult task of changing the hearts and minds of creationists. Evolution is not an optional component of biology to be dropped to avoid offence. It is the fundamental unifying principle of biology. Evolution is also the only viable explanation for the history of life displayed in the fossil record, and it demands an ancient Earth with a long history in a universe of unimaginable age and size.
Geology is thus incomplete without evolution, as is astronomy and cosmology, chemistry and physics.
We are in a fight over the principles of the scientific method, freedom of inquiry, separation of church and state, and truth, however defined. We must never surrender our responsibilities as scientists and citizens. There can be no worse position in a debate than to find yourself battling someone who knows more about the topic than you, or at least appears to. Stay informed of at least the headlines in more technical journals such as Science and Nature . Listen carefully to the arguments others present in defense of evolution.