Through the Looking-Glass With Gore Vidal

Is there no way to end the brutal warfare between fundamentalist and secular humanists? I have a suggestion. Let each camp name a paladin to confront his opposite number in single combat, the victor to carry off the laurels, the vanquished to skulk away in silence. This has been tried before, notably in the Scopes trial, when William Jennings Bryan squared off against Clarence Darrow. The results were inconclusive: The clash between two ignorant and foolish men served only to confirm each side in its ignorance and foolishness. It behooves us to make a fresh start.