Exploring the fundamental flaws of fundamentalist thought
Human Rights
If you’re straight, then why do you care?
Dec 3rd
“If you’re straight, then why do you care so much about gay marriage rights?”
This is a question I am asked far too often. Honestly, I find it somewhat unsettling that so many people find this concept so difficult to grasp.
The answer is quite simple. I care about gay marriage rights because I care about human rights. In our modern society, no one should have to struggle for the right to be treated with kindness, fairness, and respect. No one should have to suffer the indignity of having their rights denied or stripped away because of people’s stubborn adherence to ridiculously outdated dogma. The fact that this happens to anyone infuriates me.
Same-sex marriage isn’t a “gay issue”, because there’s simply no such thing as a gay or straight issue. When the most basic rights are denied to any group of people, we all bear the burden as a society. Whether or not you condone homosexuality is not the issue, as I don’t think anyone is asking for your approval. They are simply asking that you grant them the same basic rights that you take for granted.
Of course, many people who ask this question do so as a form of attack. They attempt to silence straight advocates of gay rights by calling their sexuality into question. Sadly, this tactic works far too often. Personally, I don’t care. If you want to “accuse” me of being gay, then be my guest. You’re free to think whatever you want. Despite what you may think, it’s not offensive to me in any way.
So I just want to implore all of you in-the-closet straight supporters of gay rights out there… Don’t be silenced by a bunch of ignorant fools. Don’t tell yourself that it doesn’t affect you so it’s not your problem. Take a stand for your family, friends, and coworkers who are forced to fight for their most basic rights. Only by standing up for one another can we hope to ever achieve a better future.
I should add one more point… I know I said that I don’t care if people think I’m gay. There is, however, one exception. If you happen to be a thoughtful, intelligent woman who is into opinionated atheist bloggers in their mid thirties… I AM STRAIGHT!!!!! 
A Tiny Plastic Key Chain
Nov 6th
Few would argue with the assertion that many Americans are facing uncertainty in their lives. We are living through a rather complicated period in our nation’s history. Economic difficulties have plagued countless families, and millions of people are desperate to find even the slightest glimmer of hope.
This degree of desperation tends to cloud people’s minds to an extent that they are willing to accept anything that sounds as if it will provide some sort of relief to their economic difficulties. It should come as no surprise that politicians are far too willing to capitalize on this fact by providing quick and easy answers to a frantic public. Sadly, this seems to work all too well.
On Tuesday, voters in New Jersey chose to unseat their incumbent governor and replace him with a man who offered quick and easy solutions to the economic difficulties facing their state. I am making no personal judgment as to which candidate was better qualified to hold the office. However, I am deeply concerned that a climate has been created in which quick and easy answers have triumphed over long term thinking and basic human compassion.
The governor elect has been quite vocal about his opposition to programs that have been created to strengthen the very basis of modern society… the education of our children. Specifically, he has expressed the opinion that the incredibly successful early childhood education programs implemented in the inner cities are wasteful, going so far as to suggest that it was somehow little more than state subsidized “babysitting”.
Perhaps he has never had the good fortune to look into the eyes of a teacher holding a tiny plastic key chain.
I had the opportunity to speak with a woman who has devoted her entire life to providing a quality education to inner city children. She was obviously quite distraught over the potential damage that could be done to early childhood education in New Jersey. For several years, she has been part of the programs which have provided educational equality and opportunity to the children of Camden. She now faces the very real possibility that everything she has worked so hard for will soon be ground to dust.
She spoke with intelligence and passion. I stood and watched as her eyes conveyed a veritable roller coaster of emotion… one minute joy, then fear, then anger, then pride, and even an occasional tear. As I listened, I couldn’t help but notice that she clutched her keys tightly in her hands as if her very life depended on it. Soon I discovered that this wasn’t just a quirk or figment of my imagination. It wasn’t the keys she was was clutching after all…
It was a tiny plastic key chain.
It wasn’t much to look at, really. It was only about three cents worth of little plastic beads bound together by a three inch length of string. It was the sort of thing you would probably kick aside if you saw it lying in the street.
Then she opened her hand and lifted it to show me. She showed me why she held it so dearly. She showed me why it was a talisman from which she drew her strength.
The little beads spelled out her name. This seemingly insignificant chain of shiny plastic beads was a gift given to her by one of her students. The fact that the letters spelled her name was a demonstration of the fact that this student had taken the cognitive leap of truly understanding that letters and numbers had meaning. It was a validation of everything to which she had chosen to devote her entire life.
And it was a symbol of everything shortsighted politicians seek to destroy.
People of New Jersey, please don’t let this happen. Please understand that cuts to public education do irreparable damage to our children and society as a whole. Please… please… contact your elected officials and let that know that any short range benefits you might gain are simply not worth the long term damage they will cause. We can not stand by and let them destroy our schools, condemn our children to a life of ignorance, and rip away everything for which our educators have worked so hard.
If one tiny plastic key chain can mean so much, then just imagine what thousands could do.
The Divine Mystery of Substance XJ-237
Nov 4th
Most of you are probably well aware that I treat most matters dealing with religion and the paranormal with a great deal of skepticism. However, I have recently become aware of something that has radically changed my perspective. If you would be so kind as to indulge me for a few minutes, I would very much like to share my new found knowledge with you all.
It all began with a dream… actually, more of a vision. In this vision, I was visited by an otherworldly being who simply referred to herself as “^”. She told me that I had to purchase a yellow spiral-bound notebook with at least 128 pages and a purple ballpoint pen (preferably one with the soft rubber comfort-grip handle). At exactly 2:43 am (Eastern Standard Time), I was to climb the tallest tree in the park, burn an incense composed of barley and oregano, close my eyes, and write down the truth that was revealed to me.
What follows is a summary of the One Great Truth.
Thousands of years ago there was a long forgotten race of malevolent beings who created a truly diabolical substance. This substance goes by many names throughout the universe. The insectoids of Alpha Beta 9 call it “Dark Mana”. The Avian Lords of Sigma 13 call it “Dire Milk”. The denizens of Omega Perseus 5 call it “Irving” (It is generally accepted by most sentient races that the denizens of Omega Perseus 5 “ain’t quite right in the head“, but I digress). K instructed me that we Earthlings shall know it as “Substance XJ-237″.
The purpose of this insidious substance is to mutate those who are exposed to it in horrific ways… to cause them to deviate from the Grand Design of the High Council of Krebulan (the all-knowing, all-powerful benevolent race who intelligently designed all life in the universe). These perversions against nature have taken various forms specific to the races who have fallen victim to its evil contamination. Fortunately, K informed me of the effect it has on humans.
Before Substance XJ-237 (which has no color, odor, mass, or energy signature of any kind), all human adults were designed to fall within a sacred height range. No one was shorter than 5’6″, nor were they taller than 6’3″. The reasons why the High Council of Krebulan chose this range are beyond our understanding, so suffice it to say that it represents all that is beautiful, sacred, happy, fluffy, and good. For many years humans happily adhered to these guidelines. Our race was perfect, living a life of bliss and joy in perfect harmony with our divine overlords of the High Council Krebulan (our most blessed praises unto them!). That all changed after “The Fall”.
The Fall was indeed humanity’s darkest hour (although some theologians within the reform movement now believe it to have only taken about 37 minutes). Upon seeing our perfect and happy union with the High Council of Krebulan, the jealous and malevolent race that shall not be named unleashed Substance XJ-237 upon our planet. It rained down upon the unsuspecting people of Earth, warping their minds in ways that would forever threaten their sacred bond with the High Council of Krebulan.
It brought great wickedness into their minds. All across the planet, people began to forsake the teachings of the High Council of Krebulan (hallowed be their sacred name!). Hidden in the shadows, humans began to question the very goodness of their intended design. The heresy was unthinkable… “Why CAN’T we be shorter than 5’6″? And wouldn’t it be kind of FUN to be 6’4″ tall? We could finally clean the top of the refrigerator!”
And so, great wickedness filled the Earth. Humans began to engage in unimaginable sins. In defiance of their sacred nature, millions chose to be shorter than 5’6″, while millions more chose to grow taller than 6’3″.
We have been cursed with this unthinkable sin, but all is not lost. Most of us are still righteous. Most of us have chosen to abide by the sacred rules of our nature. Most of us have chosen to be 5’6″ to 6’3″ tall.
Can we still save those who have strayed? Perhaps we can. We have seen great promise. Our missionaries have had a great deal of success bringing young children back into the light by convincing them to grow beyond 5’6″ (although we have had far less success converting those who chose to grow beyond 6’3″).
One thing we can… or should I say MUST… do is stop these deviants who have chosen to stray from the light from indoctrinating our children or forcing their way of life upon us. Across our great nation, the vile Shorties and Tallies have convinced our elected officials and activist judges to let them get married. As if that’s not bad enough, many of them actually want the right to legally adopt children.
We cannot allow this to happen. After all, they have chosen to succumb to the evil effects of Substance XJ-237. They have chosen to forsake the most blessed and sacred height guidelines set forth by our benevolent creators of the High Council of Krebulan. They have chosen to reject their reward in the afterlife (an eternity of bliss on the sacred pleasure planet Paradise 5, with its award winning all-you-can-eat buffet featuring the famous Triple Chocolate Orgasm… and that’s NOT just a figure of speech!).
Of course, some will argue that what I propose is wrong. There will be those wicked enablers of the Shorties and Tallies who claim that everything I’ve told you is complete and utter nonsense. They will point out that their is no proof that anything I’ve said is true, and that it’s perfectly natural for humans to be shorter than 5’6″ or taller than 6’3″. They will even say that it is wrong for me to deny basic legal rights and equality to my fellow human beings based on a ridiculous belief that no rational person in the twenty-first century should embrace.
Seriously, folks… is what I say really that difficult to believe? It’s not like a claimed that a pillar of fire burned laws into stone, or that people who die for their faith will be rewarded with 72 virgins, or that a carpenter was born to a virgin, died for your sins, and rose from the dead. It’s not like I am suggesting that anyone be persecuted for anything as natural as their sexual orientation. That would be completely absurd!
Can I get a “Yam-nar*”?!
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*From the Krebulan. Its closest English translation is “Amen”.
FSGP October Program Meeting: Marc Adams
Sep 20th
Friday, October 2: Humanist LGBT Author Marc Adams
Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia Building: 1906 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia PA 19103
7:00-9:00 PM
Marc Adams is the author of nine books including his autobiography, The Preacher’s Son.Since 1997, he has traversed the United States speaking to nearly 100 Unitarian Universalist congregations, major universities, political organizations, GLBT community centers, pride festivals, atheist/humanist groups and others.
The Preacher’s Son is his story of growing up gay, the son of a fundamentalist Baptist minister, his time as an ex-gay, his life as a student and employee of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, coming out and becoming a Unitarian Universalist/Humanist. Adams’ most recent book, (lost)Found is a follow-up to The Preacher’s Son. It continues his story after coming out to his family and reflects ten years of his life being out in a corporate workplace, building a family of choice, dealing with the baggage from his fundamentalist upbringing and the patient, unwavering love of his grandmother. It is truly an homage to the real love that only real family can exhibit.
Join us as Marc Adams shares his story and journey; serious and important, yet filled with humor and interaction.
Free and open to the public.
Gay marriage showdown in PA?
May 28th
There are a few constants in my morning routine… the bus ride to work, my 24 oz. black coffee, chocolate chip muffin, and the daily edition of “Metro” (a newspaper which fits comfortably in my price range). Although the paper is generally 20 some odd pages of ads and celebrity gossip, they usually manage to squeeze in a few good articles.
This morning, the dedicated a section of the front page to discuss the looming same-sex marriage battle coming to Pennsylvania.
Living in Philadelphia, I am confronted with a sort of political paradox. Philly is one of the most progressive cities in the country, and is generally regarded to be what is called a “gay-friendly” city. Most of the businesses gladly cater to gay clientele (apparently realizing that gay money is also green), and the overwhelming majority of us straight folks support gay rights.
However, large portions of central Pennsylvania are very much part of what can be considered the “Bible Belt”, a rural fundamentalist Christian stronghold.
Because of this contrast, the laws of our commonwealth do not always reflect the attitudes of our fair city. This had caused a great deal of frustration for Philly’s sizable gay community. While they have never actually passed, there have been attempts by our state legislature to define what many consider to be “traditional” marriage.
The latest attempt is a proposal by Senator John Eichelberger (R-Hollidaysburg) to amend our state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one women. Metro printed the following quote:
“The government recognized many years ago this is the best model for society. People live longer, they raise children better so they should use that model. …It’s a proven model that our forefathers recognized”
I think it should be pointed out that what he is describing are the benefits of marriage, although not necessarily straight marriage. As far as the comments about our forefathers, I would be quite curious to find out exactly what George Washington or Thomas Jefferson said about the subject of marriage equality. I don’t think the issue ever came up, as they were far too busy contemplating that fact that their slaves counted as three fifiths of a human being. But I digress.
In contrast to this proposal, another has been made by Senator Daylin Leach (D-King of Prussia) to recognize all marriages as valid and grant same sex married couples the same rights and responsibilities as their straight counterparts. I very much enjoyed his quote on the subject:
“It’s inevitable. We’ll think of it as we think of interracial marriage. … I want to … at least have Pennsylvania in the middle of the pack instead of hanging out toward the back with Alabama and Mississippi.”
I certainly hope none of my freethinking friends from the south are offended by this remark (I doubt they are, as they are usually the first to mock the fundamentalism within their own states). I think Sen. Leach has made a very important point with this statement.
Despite what our fundamentalist friends would have us believe, gay rights are moving forward and will continue to do so. Ultimately, any society which professes to uphold the principles of equality must abolish any vestiges of the old “separate but equal” philosophies of the past. Our generation will eventually be judged by those who follow many years down the road. Will we be seen as people who stood for fairness and equality, or will we be seen as a paradoxical generation who regarded individuals as three fifths of a human being?
Personally, I see a great deal of hope. Homophobia seems far less common among young Americans today. In addition, the ranks of atheists, agnostics, humanists, and progressive believers are growing every day. People are becoming far less inclined to allow antiquated dogmas to define their opinions on sexaul morality, adopting a “to each his own” or “live and let live” philosophy.
This is, of course, just a personal observation. However, I do strongly feel that we are seeing old fashioned religious fundamentalism in its death throws. We might not live to see the end of it, but I’m certain our children and grandchildren will.
And what will happen when they do? Will they thank us for the work we’ve done to move human rights forward, or will they see us as a group of apathetic individuals who said nothing while our brothers and sisters drowned in a sea of ancient dogma and intolerance?
As I said, to each his own. It is entirely up to you to determine how you will be remembered. Personally, I hope to be remembered as someone who stood up for the rights of all and rejected the mythologies of the past… and I hope that you will be remembered right there beside me.
FSGP at Equality Forum 2009
May 1st
I’m pleased to say that I will be helping out at the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia table at the Equality Forum SundayOUT! street festival this Sunday, May 3rd!
The festival will be taking place from 12-7 PM on Market St. between 2nd and 5th Street.
Please come out to support our friends and family in the LGBT community. There’s a ton of food, drink, information, and fun for gay and straight folks alike.
Don’t forget to stop by the FSGP table to say hello!
Ethical Humanist Society of Philly presents Suraya Pakzad
Mar 10th
The Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia presents…
Thursday, March 12, 2009–Suraya Pakzad: An evening with an Afghan woman of courage, Founder and Director of Voice of Women Organization
7:30 PM
Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia
1906 S. Rittenhouse Square
The daily struggles of women in Afghanistan are marked by hopelessness and despair. Women are imprisoned for things they don’t understand, beaten (or worse) by their husbands for simply looking at another man in the eye, or burned at their own hands in an attempt to escape their fate. But one Afghan woman has relentlessly put her life in danger to expose their plight and improve their lives.
That woman is Suraya Pakzad, founder and director of Voice of Women Organization, a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping women achieve economic, social and political rights in the western region of Afghanistan. VWO was founded in secrecy during the Taliban rule; meetings were in held in Ms. Pakzad’s home and initially devoted to teaching girls and young women to read. Over time, VWO expanded to provide shelter to abused women, micro-financing and other poverty-reduction programs, as well as promoting the role of women in government. Ms. Pakzad is the 2008 recipient of the Secretary of State’s award for International Women of Courage, honored for her exceptional courage and leadership in promoting women’s rights and advancement.
Ms. Pakzad will be describing her shared experience with the women of Afghanistan, the daily horrors and
struggle for basic rights, and how her efforts are challenging the present situation. We will also learn how we can help.
Aldo E. Magazzeni
Aldo created Traveling Mercies, a nonprofit foundation that is dedicated to helping others, while creating a vehicle to remove barriers between cultures so that individuals can share their strengths, assets and blessings with each other. Aldo has traveled to, and worked, with communities in Italy, Jamaica, Haiti, Mexico, South America, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Kenya, Ethiopia and others. His affiliations with volunteer groups include local churches, The Salvation Army, The Women of Hope, and The Nyumbani Children’s Home, to name a few.
Refreshments will be served. Free and Open to the public. Donations gratefully accepted.
For more information: (215) 735 – 3456, office@phillyethics.org, www.phillyethics.org
Help the fundies say “no” to special rights
Mar 2nd
For those of us used to dealing with the religious fundamentalists, hypocrisy is nothing new. In fact, it seems to be their bread and butter (or should I say, the body of their savior and margarine?)
However, I occasionally stumble upon something so utterly hypocritical that it seems to don a top hat, tails, and cane and perform an epic song and dance routine celebrating its hypocrisy. When I encounter such a thing, I am always flabbergasted that the individuals making such statements seem to be completely unaware of it.
The subject of today’s flabbergastery is a One News Now article entitled “Christian school showing film about homosexual agenda”.
The article discusses a documentary (which is apparently the term the AFA uses as a euphemism for “propaganda film”) about the ever present, evil, and shadowy force known as “the homosexual agenda” (insert dramatically scary music here). It quotes a woman by the name of Mary Balkema, a spokesperson for a group called Kalamazoo Citizens Voting No to Special Rights Discrimination, which was “successful in getting city commissioners to rescind an anti-discrimination ordinance for homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals”. Let’s take a moment to review what she said on the subject…
“We’re talking about behaviors, and behaviors people are accountable for. We think that being a cross-dresser or transgendered is a behavior,” she contends. “We’re talking about the effects that a behavior has on society. So certainly we’re trying to act in a very fair fashion in bringing that forward.”
This viewpoint is, of course, nothing new. The very basis of the religious right’s argument against the rights of the LGBT community has always been the “nature versus nurture” issue. Essentially, their point is that homosexuality is a choice, and therefor should not be protected under the same laws that ensure equal rights for other minority groups.
Nature versus nurture is an incredibly complicated debate which is still being researched by many experts, so I will make no attempt to resolve it here. However, I would like to point out that homosexuality occurs commonly throughout nature and is by no means confined to humanity alone. Most people agree that this indicates at least some degree of natural inclination toward homosexuality.
Since the fundamentalists seem to be quite fond of using the nature versus nurture argument to explain why homosexuals should not have rights, I believe we should hold them up to the same standard.
Our constitution ensures that all American citizens have the right to practice their religions. In fact, groups like the AFA often argue that anti discrimination laws which protects homosexuals violate their right to religious freedom. There is some degree of merit to this argument, as any laws which involve the right to free speech can get quite tricky. I do not intend to debate this issue in this post.
What I would like to do is pose one simple question… Are an individual’s religious beliefs a result of nature or nurture?
This question is far more simple to answer. No child is inherently Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or any other religion. The religious beliefs held by an individual are clearly the result of upbringing and personal choice.
To the best of my knowledge, no child has ever been born with a cross, rosary, or star of David in their hand. If they were, I think it would be less an indication of inherent faith and more of an indication that the child’s mother had some sort of a bizarre fetish involving religious symbols (which brings up a whole new set of psychological issues that I have neither the time, expertise, nor desire to discuss at this time).
I know many people will claim that their personal religious views are intrinsic, but this simply isn’t true. If a child was isolated from society at birth, it is seriously doubtful that he would independently arrive at the conclusion that a carpenter died for his sins 2,000 years ago. Such a belief is clearly an example of a child’s upbringing and personal choices.
I believe it’s time for the religious right to literally practice what they preach. If you believe that people should not be given legal protection for behaviors and beliefs that are a matter of environment and personal choice, then you should immediately start lobbying for an amendment to end the rights and protection provided to religion in our society.
Doing so will demonstrate that you are firm in your beliefs and reject hypocrisy. Only after you have done this can we begin to have a fair dialogue about the “special rights” being given to homosexuals.
To put it quite plainly… It’s time for you walk the walk instead of just talking the talk.
Or will the rejection of hypocrisy cause the very foundation of your beliefs to crumble to dust?
The AFA has shown me the light of love!
Jul 16th
I am here to testify to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have finally seen the light! Glory unto He who has cast His shining ray of truth through the darkness so that I may bask in the truth of love!
When I say “He”, I am of course refering to Don Wildmon, the illustrious leader of the American Family Association.
I understand that most of you are probably quite surprised by my rebirth into the light of Don (Glory be upon Him!). I suppose I should start from the beginning.
It seems that fast food megalith McDonald’s has caved into the wretched “Homosexual Agenda” by joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a group which rewards companies that have the audacity to acknowledge that homosexuals deserve to be treated like human beings. This should come as no surprise to many of us. After all, this is a company which takes pride in the fact that they have slipped their hot meat between a tender set of buns billions of times! I am appalled that so many God-fearing Americans have accepted this sinful behavior for so many years.
Luckily, the good and just Mr. Wildmon would have none of this. He immediately called upon his legion of Christian soldiers to launch a volley of emails to McDonald’s demanding that they “remain neutral in the culture war”.
How did McDonald’s respond? Rather than have the decency to cave into the demands of an army of Bible-bangers with too much time on their hands, spokesman Bill Whitman suggested that these individuals were motivated by HATE!
In a recent article at One News Now, Don Wildmon denied that hate had anything to do with it. It’s easy to see his point. After all, how can any rational person claim that forming an organization devoted to discriminating against a group of people that have done absolutely nothing wrong to you is somehow a form of “hate”?
In fact, I have received many emails from AFA supporters explaining that this bigotry is actually an act of LOVE!
Well, Wildmon and his minions must know what they are talking about, seeing as how they have the one true God on their side and all, so I have decided to adopt their way of thinking. All things that seem to be acts of hate are merely a form of love! Just imagine how much nicer the world would be if we apply this philosophy to other situations…
- White supremacists are often accused of hating minority groups. This is completely unfair, because they love them. They have so much love for these people that they want them to have their very own schools, water fountains, towns, and sections at the back of the bus. In fact, they love them so much that they have been known to hang them from trees like Christmas ornaments so that we may all appreciate their beauty!
- Adolf Hitler is remembered for his hatred of the Jews. History has obviously gotten this wrong… he must have loved them! Everybody likes to go to camp, right? Well Hitler had so much love in his heart that he built dozens of camps for the Jewish people. He gave them all matching pinstripe pajamas, let them develop job skills by engaging in manual labor for 18 hours a day, and provided them with three square meals a month! When these camps became too crowded, he was kind enough to eliminate many of the campers so that more Jews could come and experience his divine love. Oh, how beautiful it was!
- Rapists are criminals? I think not! They are merely men who love women so much that they can’t bear to hold the love inside!
- And last but not least, we can’t forget Karl Rove, a man who loved the black and Hispanic voters so much that he went out of his way to make sure that they didn’t have to waste a perfectly good Tuesday in November voting!
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It’s time to put all kidding aside. I’m aware that it’s not entirely fair to compare the Religious Right to murderers and rapists, and it’s downright cruel to compare anyone to Karl Rove. I may have pushed the limits of good taste here, but I did it to make an important point.
Hitler was delusional enough to believe he was acting in the best interest if humanity by committing his unimaginable crimes against humanity. White supremacists are delusional enough to believe that they are saving America by waging war against all minorities. Many rapists even believe that their sick and violent crimes against women are intimate acts of love toward these women.
In the same respect, religious fundamentalist groups are delusional enough to believe that they are executing the divine will of an omnipotent being by waging a campaign of bigotry and intolerance against good people whose only “crime” is their natural sexual orientation.
You can claim that your campaign of bigotry is a holy culture war born of love. You can also claim that a steaming pile of excrement is a hot fudge sundae.
Just don’t expect us to swallow either one.
