It's Time to Act

First of all, let me come totally out of the closet: I am an Atheist. I do not believe in any gods. Secondly, over the past few years I have started to become something of a "militant" atheist. Living as I do in the "Babble Belt", I am constantly bombarded by the Fundie Bullshit. Yes, I said Bullshit. Recently, a group of secular organizations in NC raised a few billboards. Each of them had a simple message; the American flag superimposed with the words "One Nation, Indivisible". The furor among the faithful was a joy to behold. When the billboard was vandalized by some contemptible idiot, the act simply served to extend the attention of the media. The Charlotte Atheists and Agnostics, of which I am a member, has increased its membership by over 150 members (from an earlier total of around 700).

All of this just goes to show that there are lots of people out there who are giving up on the mythology, dogma, and outright lies of the past. How any intelligent human being can truly believe in a mythology written by bronze age nomads thousands of years ago and modified extensively by all those in power (both the church and rulers of the time) over the centuries defies understanding.

The religious right seems to have made it their task to destroy all the advances in science, politics, civility, and personal freedom that civilization has made over the last few hundred years. They do this by indoctrination of their children, massive media campaigns, "Creation" museums, letters to the editor, Faux News, political activism and campaigns, School Board "decisions" to rewrite History and geld Science, etc, etc.

This blog, therefore, is a clear announcement that I, for one, will not stand idly by and let four hundred years (or more) of intellectual advance be destroyed by a bunch of people who believe that "faith" can ever overcome reason. The human race has fought to hard for the few gains we have.

Here's what I "believe":

1. This universe is way too complicated and wonderful to have been "created" by the Abrahamic god (yes that includes all three of the major religions in the world.

2. The only way we will ever find any true answers to the great questions of life is by open, intellectual, scientific research. We may never find answers to all the big questions. We may even find that what we think are the right questions were the wrong ones to start with.

3. There is no god, no heaven, no hell. What we make of this life is it, and everyone should make the effort to try and leave this earth just a little better than they found it. I'm past 6 decades old, and I have to confess, I haven't done that much.

4. Wasting your life spouting the dogma and mythology of the past is a crime against humanity.

5. Attempting to suppress the ideas of others by threatening them with eternal damnation from an angry "god", or worse yet, threatening them with death at the hand of a savage mob of zealots, is wrong.

6. Pushing your "morality" on others, especially those whose lifestyle, sexual identity, goals in life, etc. are just "different" from yours is wrong. Leave others to follow their own paths, and don't claim that your "god" told you to "save" them. That's just your insecurity showing.

7. Do not, under any circumstances, harm another human being without extreme provocation, and then use only the means necessary to insure the safety of yourself and those around you. Yes, killing is wrong. Sometimes, unfortunately, those who are mentally wounded by physical, psychological, and religious influences will not stop until they are stopped physically. This is not something to be desired by a sane human being.

8. The human race has a long way to go before it grows up. I used to be very optimistic about our chances. Now, I am not so sure. We are facing a crisis of will. What we have accomplished in the last 100 years is amazing, but has come at a great cost. I truly believe that this planet will not be able to sustain our numbers much longer. We need to get off this rock. We need to start now. We probably won't. Unfortunately, if we don't we probably face extinction as a species.

9. Other than religious fervor, the greatest threats to the human race are : Energy, Water, and Population. We are seeing the beginnings of the end of the petroleum era today. We are, in my opinion, doing way to little to solve that problem. Water issues are also rearing their ugly heads, and there are way to many people on the planet now. Of course, the religious would have you believe that birth control and abortion are both sides of the same evil sinful coin.

10. We have gained more knowledge about our universe in the last century than in all the preceding thousands of years that we have been on this planet. We have done so through science, always striving to answer the questions we all ask. Yet there are those on this planet who insist the earth is at best a few thousand years old. We must educate our children (and yes, even their children) to the truths of the universe. Only an educated public can save the human race.


It's Time to Act!

(More ranting later)