27. September 2009 by Frank.

I work for a company that thrives on statistics.  Every single day we are bombarded with this year’s sales figures compared to last year’s sales figures, customer counts, percentages to various budgets, variations to forecasts, comparisons to holiday weekends even if they don’t fall on the same general dates, and a plethora of other essentially useless numbers.  All any of us peons really want to know is if we sold enough stuff that we get to keep our jobs another day.

With this in mind, the first submission to this week’s Symposium prompted me to have a facepalm moment and shout, “Statistics!  Why’d it have to be statistics?!”  Turns out that Luke at Common Sense Atheism has a good reason to cite some statistics.  Drawing from the book, Society Without God by Phil Zuckerman, he lays out some pretty impressive stats (shudder) that clearly show non-religious societies are actually among the most “well-developed, wealthiest, most democratic, most free, most entrepreneurial, least corrupt, least violent, most peaceful, healthiest, happiest, most egalitarian, best educated, most charitable, and most environmentally compassionate societies in the entire world.”  Read it for yourself right here.

I am wholeheartedly interested in a less religious society.  It seems at times that I am being constantly pressured to move back to religion, almost like any other position is completely unacceptable.  So you join up in any way that you can with other atheist and humanist movements and discover that there are like minded people.  Unfortunately, none of them seem to be where you are if you live in a small town.  So you have this weird feeling that you’re part of something but not really part of anything because you’re the only one in your group.  It’s lonely out here.

I don’t think Greta Christina is lonely but she exposes a darker aspect of the atheistic and humanist movements brought about by perceptions of them being the exclusive domain of white males.  Being a white male myself, I was not aware there was even a problem.  Or that anyone would have reason to feel excluded.  (I’m not exactly the brightest bulb in the lamp.)  But that’s why it’s so important to read as many blogs as you can from so many divers people.  Greta has an excellent two part post exposing this attitude and suggesting some very practical things to avoid letting it get out of hand while we’re still early in the game.  (Part 1, Part 2)

Greta seems to be extremely well-known by virtually everyone I read.  She’s one of the most interesting people I’ve come across online.  This view is shared by the Humanist Symposium’s own Ebonmuse who offers his thoughts on the same subject after being inspired by reading Greta’s 2 posts.

It’s far too easy to be complacent and remain unaware of very real problems of this nature.  There are major issues at stake in the political culture of our country and the world and there are voices demanding to be heard.  A great deal of the loudest and most attention getting voices want to set us back a few hundred years.  One voice that wants us to move forward is Sikivu Hutchinson.  An interview with her by Greta Christina and several of her articles inspired more than just Greta and Ebonmuse to write about these concepts, I’ve read a number of other articles Sikivu inspired recently and must say that she is opening quite a few eyes.  Bold, reasoned, and unequivocal are some of the words I would use to describe her article “This Far By Faith?  Race Traitors, Gender Apostates and the Atheism Question.”  It’s not often someone of this stature notices a humble little blog carnival, let alone submits an article to it.

Originally, I had intended to link this Symposium together with a lighthearted rambling science fiction theme which I had all worked out in advance and was planning on writing this weekend.  I had correctly surmised that the vast majority of submissions would show up just a few days before they were supposed to be posted.  I wanted to do something fun and upbeat as well as unusual.  But things don’t always cooperate.

Phil for Humanity says, “Whatever that is keeping you from being with your loved ones, your family, your friends, your lover, from your true passion, or from just living your life in general; it is not as important as you may think.”  His brief post, It Does Not Matter, hits home for me in quite a profound way.

My father-in-law died quite unexpectedly yesterday afternoon.  He had a serious infection in his leg and my wife had moved in with him this last week to take care of him.  He was a very large man and she had called the EMT’s to come take him to his doctor’s appointment but he was having some trouble so they decided to go to the hospital instead.  He died before they got there.  Just the day before he was full of life griping and complaining about everything and what a nuisance his leg was becoming.  Death is a very ugly thing.  Lighthearted and frivolous just flew out the door.

Glowing Face Man submitted a post entitled, “The length of a Human Lifetime,” that is oddly appropriate just now.  Perceived time isn’t the same as real time based on age.  By any standard my father-in-law led a very full life in his just shy of 80 years.

One of my wife’s sisters remarked last night that Thanksgiving and Christmas won’t be the same this year.  She was obviously distraught but I had just read “Humanist Rosh Hashanah” by The Purloined Letter a few days ago and thought here was a great idea that could be applied to the holidays for our family this year.  Amazing how many of these submissions were comforting and appropriate to my family situation just now.

The aptly named The Emotion Machine sent in This Too Shall Pass (A Lesson In Impermanence).  Some things you think will never change and yet they do.  The wisdom story that begins the article is particularly effective and also illustrates perfectly something very near and dear to me; that is perception.

All of my perceptions about life were radically altered by my stroke eleven years ago.  I went from wanting to be a preacher for the rest of my life to having no faith and no belief in god in an instant (although it took a long time to figure out what happened.)  But very subtle and often very simple differences in perception can change an entire worldview.  Consider these examples:  Atheism: The Essence of Morality by Towards a Rational America and an Enlightened Judaism in which reasons for moral behavior are diametrically opposed and Concentration Brings Happiness (Why People Think They Can Actually Sing) by Scientific Living in which being mentally occupied is preferable to being mentally diffuse.  Singing in the shower is definitely a  matter of perception if anyone could hear you.

Religion and science butt heads all the time often in such things as the meaning of certain words or the perceptions of certain concepts.  It’s no secret the word THEORY doesn’t mean the same thing to a scientist and a creationist.  So The Evolving Mind says that Religion is a Rotten Variable; define your terms.  Our own prolific Philly Chief makes the same sort of connection pointing out how god belief attaches itself to morality so that they are perceived as one in the same.  God Belief is a Third Wheel says Philly and you know he’s right.  Meanwhile, The Primate Diaries points out that The Unseen and Unknowable Has No Place in Science just like questioning has no place in religion.  C.L. Hanson of Letters From a Broad is quite excited about “Here Comes Science” by They Might Be Giants.  Aimed at kids (obviously) but wouldn’t you rather see more science is exciting promotion in our current American society?  I know I would.  Let C.L. explain “Why I Love ‘Here Comes Science’!!!”

The Chaplain over at An Apostate’s Chapel is outraged, outraged I tell you that a big time publisher is cowering to extremists in publishing a book about the cartoons that offended the Muslim extremists without including the cartoons themselves.  She even uses the phrase, “…should have the balls to stand up for free speech and a free press,” in her article:  Yale University Press Caves In.  That’s outrage.

Celebrating the Win Does Not Always Mean Deriding the Loser says Vjack of Atheist Revolution which again brings up how you perceive the situation.  I myself can’t help but feel good when religion loses a little more of its hold over our society.  Indeed, as religion lost its hold on me personally, I became happier and happier.  So when they lose one on the national or world stage I get a boost out of it.

And finally, a post that was perfectly in tune with my original lighthearted intent.  Symbolism Shmymbolism by She Who Chatters (great name by the way) tackles an actually serious issue involving who we are as a movement and whether or not we need symbols to identify ourselves.

My wife is doing what she does to handle her grief, she’s out talking to her friends.  And I’m here doing what I do to handle my grief, I’m writing to my friends.  We handle things much differently not only because of personality but also because of religious differences.  I’m not sure why but there has been very little god talk the last couple of days beyond some religious songs they want played at the funeral.  Nobody wanted to see the chaplain while we were at the hospital.  Being quite familiar with what passes for compassion and comfort from religious folks at these events, I was relieved not to hear the same old platitudes I heard when my mother died a couple of years ago.

But no matter what you believe, death is ugly.  So ugly that we shouldn’t fear it but do everything in our power to overcome it.  To live our lives to the fullest extent possible.  To enjoy every moment of every day.  To rejoice in our humanity and share our lives and love with one another.  What more do we need?

You can participate in the Humanist Symposium by visiting the Symposium homepage for all the details.  The next issue is on October 18, 2009 at Cubik’s Rube.  Do Cubik a favor, submit your articles early.  It will make his life so much easier!

Posted in wild guesses, listen, interpretation, communication, humor, signs, hearing, stroke, religion, emotion, education, Blogroll | Print | 5 Comments »

29. April 2009 by Frank.

Sometime right around this week, I launched this blog to a huge sigh of indifference.  But it quickly started picking up traffic and is now generating very decent numbers.  I’ve got readers from England, Australia, and Brazil; to name a few.  The big thing I lack is readers who comment.  Yeah, there’s a handful to whom I’m very grateful.  But none of my blogs (and I’ve had several) have ever drawn much in the way of interaction.  This is both a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand, I know that if anyone does say anything, they actually want to communicate with me.  On the other hand, I know that sites with tons of commenters often become steaming piles of stupid.  I seldom see real dialog and debate taking place so I wonder why in the world I should want that.  It would be great to get feedback, however.

I occasionally write about current events but I try to avoid covering the same things every other atheist blogger is covering.  I tend to prefer real life stories with personal involvement.  When I do my bible deconstruction articles, I start feeling like I’m lecturing to a class of very bored freshman zombies.  (I must say that I am fond of zombies since they are always looking for brains.  More braaaiiiiiinnnsssssss!)  All the while I see more and more evidence that the religious seem to want to shut their brains off and never use them again.  I doubt I’m reaching any of them but I don’t deliberately set out to antagonize them.

Blogging helps me tremendously.  Sometimes it’s the only way I can get things off my chest or my back.  I have the storyteller gene.  That’s part of the reason I want to expand online again.  Words and/or pictures and in any combination thereof are what I am about.  However, I sometimes wonder if I’m headed the right direction.

I’ve been blogging since 1998 although it wasn’t called that back then.  I just killed (deleted) my general purpose journal that I had going since 2004.  I’ve decided to concentrate on this one blog from now on so look for the range of topics I cover to expand considerably.  I don’t believe that the only thing all atheists do all the time in their lives online is debate religion with people who are very into religion.

Did you know, for instance, that if you don’t shave you increase your risk for stroke?  Put that in your pipe and debate it.  Said the heavily bearded man.

Posted in religion, stroke, Blogroll, Uncategorized | Print | 5 Comments »