Now is the Time to Oppose Proposition 26

I have spoken to several people who I know to be reasonable, and all of them, to a person, was ignorant about the ramifications of Prop. 26, and being reasonable people, the truth about the proposition caught them off guard. Yes, it will potentially ban almost all forms of birth control. Once people are aware of that, a no vote becomes virtually assured, at least for reasonable people.

I have also fired off a letter to the editor that puts out some of the facts, and I look for it to be published this week or next.

I want to push, prod, goad, those of you who oppose this proposition to act, now. Now is the time to write letters to the editor. Now is the time to talk to your reasonable friends and family. It is a no-brainer once the facts are given, so let's get to work opposing this insanity. I want to see Mississippi redeemed, and I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

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Initiative 26 is Bad for All Pregnant Women

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Just in Time for Halloween…Jesus!

Vote No on Initiative 26

On November 8, Mississippi voters will decide whether to amend our state constitution by redefining personhood to include fertilized eggs. The stated goal of those promoting Initiative 26 is to provide the U.S. Supreme Court with the case they need to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively ending reproductive freedom for American women. Mississippi was selected intentionally after similar efforts failed twice in Colorado. Proponents of Initiative 26 are counting on Mississippi voters to be less informed and more conservative than Colorado voters.

Should Religious Views be Respected?

The answer is no, views should not be respected in and of themselves. If a person posits a belief in unicorns, that view should not be respected, but dismissed. That said, I think we have a moral obligation to respect the person who posits the belief, as in, perhaps we should suggest that the unicornist seek a good therapist, and we should do what we can to help him.

A good debate is going on over at Salon.com about how faith should be treated among atheists, beginning with what I see as a rather silly view put forth by Alan Lightman, who argues for some nebulous value in faith for those who have it. Dawkins, and those who dismiss such faith as useless because it fails to account for reality, are dismissed as militaristic and/or assholes for not being nice to believers.

Daniel Dennett responded with a short piece that I would have written myself. Essentially, Dennett says that atheists have no impetus to be nice with regard to belief. Atheists are right to dismiss ridiculous claims, and they are doubly right to highlight the atrocities committed under the name of God throughout history.

Two points to make here: Back to my original assertion that we should respect the believer, not the belief, certainly seems to be an important distinction with which I think Dawkins and Dennett would agree. After all, both of those men are by all accounts personable and amiable fellows who would, no doubt, tell you you are wrong and then buy you a beer.

Secondly, and what gets lost in the labeling of those guys as assholes is that they are academics, which means they work for expertise and that they support their claims with evidence. If one brings bullshit into the academic arena, he or she should expect to be called on it. One doesn't base his claims on faith and superstition in an academic arena without meeting with derision and dismissal. That's how the evidence-based community functions, and I, for one, and glad for that.

In a country, hell, a world, in which god-belief is given for all manner of claims, from opposition to stem cell research to sex education and beyond, I am happy to have outspoken academics like Dawkins and Dennett pointing out that the emperor wears no clothes. We need more people like them, and we certainly shouldn't take a namby-pamby approach to bullshit claims. We shouldn't treat those claims withe kid-gloves as if they have merit. We should respect the humanity of those who make those claims (even if those religious folks who make those claims refuse to respect humanity, which is often the case), but we should feel absolutely fine with dismissing their bullshit out-of-hand.

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The Ironies Can Kill You

This is going to be a diatribe of sorts because one can only take so much before the cap pops off and the frustration spews.

So, Fox News is a propaganda machine, nothing new there. Whenever I need my fill of utter bullshit, that's my first stop. As a bullshit source, Fox never lets me down. And I could go on and on and provide clips or links to demonstrate such, but what's the point. We all know this.

But it nevertheless always gets me thinking: Who is the guy and gal out there who watches anything on Fox and agrees with it? Who are these people? Who out there is so ignorant, so incapable of thinking (much less thinking critically), that they can sit on their couches, watch the nonsense, and nod their heads in agreement? Who out there can't smell the bullshit when to me it reeks so badly I have to hold my nose and cut an onion or two?

So, moving right along, sometimes, I suppose when I'm in the mood for self-immolation, I settle for a perusal of the American Family Association web site. Classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the AFA is always good for a dose of bile. But again, I wonder, who are these people? Who are these busybodies who hate homosexuals so much that they actually give a damn what homosexuals do? Who out there hates gay people so much that they actively tune in to hateful rhetoric and don't somehow feel dirty, or demeaned? Do these people have any sort of semblance of a conscience at all?

Who out there actually thinks its a good idea to declare a zygote a legal person?

Who out there really believes, in light of all other problems, that abortion, or gay marriage, etc., are important issues, or, in the rhetoric of the religious right, the indication that we are in the end times?

I just don't get it. I fail to understand. Contemplating the above, I'm torn between sympathy for their ignorance, (poor-stupid-fundies, they just don't know better. The American school system failed them so miserably.) But on the other hand, they are not content to be merely stupid, that would be one thing, but they are so stupid that they think their stupidity is wisdom, and so they think that they should spread it to others. The end result: viral stupidity, viral bigotry, viral hate.

I am describing the utter frustration of fighting a lost cause. They cannot be cured. They cannot be taught. They are stupid, and they always will be. The power of reason, of argument, of justice, are useless against such colossal stupidity.

But here's the irony: Sometimes I wish there was a Hell. I truly do. Because I know that these self-righteous, stupid bigots would be roasting in it, shocked, absolutely shocked, that spending a life spreading stupidity and bigotry landed them there. Perhaps then they would understand. But I doubt it.

End diatribe.

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Secular Student Alliance Group Approved at Southern Miss

There are a few active atheist groups in Mississippi, but the Hattiesburg area has never been fortunate enough to have one. That could be about to change.

The University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg) has approved the charter of a new student group, the Secular Student Alliance at Southern Miss. This group has the distinction of being the first Secular Student Alliance (SSA) chapter in Mississippi. Congratulations to all involved!

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I'm Speechless

I have to admit, with the Occupy Wall Street movement gaining momentum day by day, and with the looming economic disaster that seems to be gripping much of Europe, which will surely spell doom for the anemic U.S. economy, I'm finding it difficult to find things to write about. I mean, the post I'd been working on, about abstinence-only sex-ed in Mississippi, hardly seems important in our current context. So, I've been silent for a couple of weeks.

I am cheering for the Occupy Wall Street people. I think they are fighting for a just cause and they are in the right place, Wall Street, the ground zero of our economic woes. I don't know if it will continue to gain momentum or fizzle out, but I know what I'd like to see. I'd like to see social justice and real change in the way we do things in the United States. I'd like to see the robber-barons get their comeuppance.

Wait and see. We live in interesting times.
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Occupy Mississippi

If you have been following the Occupy Wall Street protests and wish you could do something similar a bit closer to home, you'll have a chance on October 6th. An Occupy Mississippi event is being organized in Jackson.

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