Sometime on the afternoon of October 3rd, 1995, I was kept captive in my high school social studies class. 

Meanwhile, the fate of Mr. Orenthal James Simpson was being determined by a jury of his peers.

My teacher decided that the verdict had no relevance to social studies, and that therefore we should neither be listening along on the radio as it came out, nor discuss it, as a class, in any way, shape, or form.

What was more relevant to a diverse group of New York students who would grow up to populate the most informed and intelligent generation in history, was the intricate process of ancient Chinese school systems.

That the ancient Chinese had elaborate standardized tests to root out the strong students from the weak, and that we, as students of Hunter College High School had been processed through an identical system, was supposed to be an insight into our social world, personal development, and societal responsibility.

But, apparently, the appropriately coined "Trial of the Century" has nothing to do with our lives?

What kind of teacher, charged with shaping the young minds of America, specifically assigned to the topic of social studies, the examination of the factors that shape our social world, could look at the OJ Simpson Trial as nothing but overblown celebrity gossip?

What kind of teacher would insist, that instead of being kept abreast of the verdict, of experiencing in real-time the shock felt by an entire nation of spectators, that we were better off discussing ancient China, and learning the decision only second-hand, after the fact?

The trial had everything to do with our generation, who I call: The Green Generation.

We have grown up to be citizens, in the Platonic sense of taking responsibility for the course of one's own civilization, by becoming, first and foremost, scientists, who can discern, understand, and parse the natural world around them, and then activists, whether sustainable, social justice, environmental, or other.

Yes, we are artists and poets and humanitarians, but the foundation of all our efforts is that we are the first generation in history that has a true grasp on gathering knowledge, of actually understanding the world, instead of just commenting on.

We are not building a civilization based on faith anymore, but reason, because for the first time ever, we have the tools to gather, collect, and share information.

But my social studies teacher had no idea what our generation was becoming, and therefore had no idea of how important the OJ Simpson verdict was. Her perspective was made even more short-sighted because she couldn't see past the race issue.

She thought the trial, and complementary media swarm, was some tabloid garbage about black men and white women. She missed the point about DNA.

Eleven years ago, the jury was completely confused as to what DNA evidence means. It was presented by the prosecution in a dry and obtuse way to a dozen scientific laymen.

Now, forensic crime shows are the top-rated programs on television, which is about entertainment.

Where we once expected only professional experts to know about evidence preparation, scientific methodology, and forensic procedure, we now, as a culture, are fluent in these ideas.

But the race-issue was appropriate for one basic scientific reason: It obscured the truth.

The defense, with manipulative virtuosity, used the racism of the LAPD to discredit hard facts.

We couldn't "know" that Simpson's blood was really at the crime scene, because we did not "believe" that the LAPD wouldn't set him up for the murders.

It was a classic case of politics being used to cloud scientific judgment—and it worked!

And that is the challenge of our generation: to not let politics, which is greedy self-interest, get in the way of science, which is fundamental, benevolent truth.

Actually, Mr. President, there is a scientific consensus on global warming.

Actually, Mr. GOP-er, stem cell research does not require harvesting embryos, or the death of babies, in general, anymore.

Actually, Mr. Energy Mogul, nuclear power plants are not cleaner than coal, because what we gain in less pollution we lose in more radiation poisoning.

Looking into our ancient cultural past to gleam insights about our present condition is insightful, but to honor that above examining the modern world through a scientific lens is downright stupid.

It's honoring good information over great information.

It's saying that a Confucian proverb has more to tell us about America than OJ's Trial of the Century. It's not being very smart, and it’s not being very Green Generation of you.