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(no subject)
I think I'm going to up(?)grade my personal religious label from "nonreligious" to "skeptical". It takes my lack of faith in the supernatural to a more aggressive stance without crossing all the way over into "atheist". Skepticism says neither "I have no opinion" nor "you're a deluded sheep"; it says "prove it". (As a bonus, it also gives me a definitive answer to whether or not I believe in God; "I'm skeptical" works on two levels here.)
The trigger is that I lately feel I can no longer afford to have no opinion on religion, as fundamentalism is becoming increasingly dangerous to my own civilization. Fundamentalists from a different civilization trying to attack us is one thing; domestic fundamentalists trying to erode secular government I enjoy is another. But the two working off of each other in a frighteningly anti-intellectual vicious cycle? OK, you've got my attention now.
Not that I know what I'm going to do about it yet. But it seems like a proper internal recalibration before continuing.
The trigger is that I lately feel I can no longer afford to have no opinion on religion, as fundamentalism is becoming increasingly dangerous to my own civilization. Fundamentalists from a different civilization trying to attack us is one thing; domestic fundamentalists trying to erode secular government I enjoy is another. But the two working off of each other in a frighteningly anti-intellectual vicious cycle? OK, you've got my attention now.
Not that I know what I'm going to do about it yet. But it seems like a proper internal recalibration before continuing.
no subject
Yep, much like those on the other side of the planet who dream of restoring the Caliphate. It's stunning how very much the same the two groups are, and coming to accept this fact has helped rouse me into feeling I should seek to do something about it.
My point is that I feel, for me, like it's time to move beyond ranting, and start looking for ways to act. The core fundamentalists might be immutable in their beliefs, but what they're trying to do, though, is proselytize to the nation through entirely inappropriate avenues. I think that we the Reality-Based can and should resist this with equal strength -- and I'd like to think we can do it with greater strength, because truth is actually on our side, god dammit.