Right, Write, and Wrong

I recently finished reading a book that really got me thinking.  It's called The Atheist's Guide to Christmas.  Now I realize that reading something with Christmas in the title in February might seem a little odd, but I picked it because I needed a little levity in my life.  I figured there is never a bad time to poke fun at social and religious norms.  To my surprise, this book filled with short stories was both amusing at times and enlightening.  Each chapter was written by a different non-theist.  Some are comedians, scientists, writers.



A person does not have to believe in a higher power in order to be a compassionate, moral, upstanding citizen.

This isn't a foreign concept for me.  It is who I am.  Being an atheist is just one of many things about me that not everyone agrees with.  I realized my lack of belief when I was 12 and have never looked back.  The surprising part, is that despite my lack of faith, I have a very strong view of right and wrong.  I do not need the fear of punishment or lack of reward after death to help guide me make fair and true decisions.  My moral compass is intrinsic.  Just ask my Mom.  I've been harping about fairness ever since I was a little kid.  Nothing got me more frustrated then when things weren't fair.  As an adult, it still bothers me.  What is right, and what is fair are the tenets I live by.

What this book left me with was the understanding that I am not alone.  Now if you watch FOX news you would be led to believe that us heathens are taking over the world, ripping the Christ right out of Christmas.  The reality is that we are still very much the minority. 15% of the US population view themselves as secular/agnostic/atheist.  So out of that 15% even fewer truly consider themselves non-believers.  The best part about about being vilified in the media is the free press.  It is kind of thoughtful of them to bring us up all the time so others can realize that there are other options outside of blind faith.

In fact, there is a whole movement!  It is called humanism.  I had never heard of it until I read this book.  For a girl who use to live by the mantra (to quote Daria) "I don't have low self-esteem.  I have low esteem for others."  It surprised me to realize how strongly I believe in human beings.  I truly believe that people have the ability to solve the problems of the world.  We damn well should since we were the ones who screwed things up in the first place!  I have always expected the best in others but have been routinely disappointed.  Expectations will do that to you.  Despite that, I have not lost hope.


The responsibility for our lives and the kind of world in which we live is ours and ours alone.

How about we stop screwing it up and start fixing it, eh?

Want more information?  
Check out these links:

americanhumanist.org
foundationbeyondbelief.org
ffrf.org
secular.org
thenewhumanism.org

And these blogs:

http://skepchick.org/
http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy.html
http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/