Religious freedom and contraception coverage

I am getting sick to death of the conservative whining that the new rules on universal insurance coverage for contraception are an affront to religious freedom.

Yes, employers are entitled to personal religious freedom. However that freedom does not extend to making religious choices for employees because those people have a right to religious freedom too. They might not be members of their employer's religion or subject to its prohibitions on, for example, contraception. It is unconscionable to permit an employer to force religious rules on employees in a country that enshrines freedom of religion for its citizens.

Nor is it permissible for religions, religiously administered public services, or religiously influenced businesses to simply claim a theological or moral objection to the laws of our country and thereafter be granted special exemption from those laws. The law is the same for all of us. That is why if a religion has a belief in human sacrifice, it would still be murder to practice that ritual. That is why if a religion had an moral opposition to the mixing of races, it would still be illegal for its hospitals to turn away employees or patients on the basis of race.

Remember, your religious freedom is real and protected, but it doesn't grant you or anyone else immunity from the law or a right to bully subordinates.

A wall of eternal separation

The letter by Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists explaining the wall of separation between church and state.

To messers Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.

Gentlemen

The affectionate sentiments of esteem & approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, and, in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more & more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" thus building a wall of eternal separation between Church & State. Congress thus inhibited from acts respecting religion, and the Executive authorised only to execute their acts, I have refrained from prescribing even those occasional performances of devotion, practiced indeed by the Executive of another nation as the legal head of its church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect.

[Jefferson first wrote: "confining myself therefore to the duties of my station, which are merely temporal, be assured that your religious rights shall never be infringed by any act of mine and that." These lines he crossed out and then wrote: "concurring with"; having crossed out these two words, he wrote: "Adhering to this great act of national legislation in behalf of the rights of conscience"; next he crossed out these words and wrote: "Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience I shall see with friendly dispositions the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced that he has no natural rights in opposition to his social duties."]

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & the Danbury Baptist your religious association assurances of my high respect & esteem.

Th Jefferson
Jan. 1. 1802

Skeptic. Not Cynic

I'm not a cynic. Sometimes I'm sad, but I am rarely bitter or pessimistic enough to be truly cynical. Skeptic? Sure, that's a better label. My skepticism flows from my optimistic belief that we can actually learn and discern the truth with a good enough toolkit.  I don't see that as cynical.

Sexism among Atheists

The question of sexism is an open controversy among atheists. There are those who claim and cite examples of the kinds of sexism that they are exposed to within atheist communities and how it discourages female participation. There are those who claim that the complaints are overblown and that atheists are if anything more likely to oppose sexism as irrational. I've seen an argument that goes a little something like this: any idea ought to stand on its own merit without regard to gender and if atheist communities are mostly male that is the fault of women for not being more rational.

Look. I come down squarely on the side of those who complain that there is indeed sexism among atheists. No, it isn't everyone nor is it always overt nor is it as bad many religions, but it is present. I am male but that does not mean that I am immune from observing the kinds of behaviors that strike me as at best rude and all too often as hostile. Moreover, though I think I can parse the arguments that deny the magnitude of the problem, that does not mean that I agree with them, especially when they are themselves examples of the problem. See above.

Recently, a young woman posted on the Atheism forum at Reddit a picture of herself holding a book by Carl Sagan that she had received from her religious mother for Christmas. This ended up becoming a flash point for the ongoing controversy about the prevalence of sexism among atheists. A controversy I should note that has been boiling to some extent for much of this year.

Some feminist, atheist bloggers have expressed their disappointment in the atheists who posted sexist, demeaning things in response to that young woman's picture. They've cited this as yet another example of the kind of hostility women face that discourages involvement in the atheist community. This has sparked replies defending the community as a whole from the charge of sexism, arguing that the problem is contained in only a few bad apples. And the debate kicked off anew.

What I do not think those who are denying the severity of the sexism problem seem to understand is that whether it is a few bad, but vocal, apples causing the problem or not -- by giving them a pass on their behavior we are as a community giving tacit approval of their unwelcoming stance towards female involvement. This creates a feedback loop that reduces the gender diversity of our community, which in turn emboldens the sexists to think they can continue to get away with being hostile, which makes our community seem hostile to women even if the majority of us aren't, which keeps gender diversity low, and so on.

I happen to think that overt and hidden sexism are both an impediment to our community. I think that women have valuable contributions to make, not the least in a chance to promote self reflection regarding sexism and male privilege in ourselves and in our communities. Some of those who refuse to examine potential sexism or refuse see it in themselves are pushing back against women, but they do not represent my views on this matter. I would be happy to see that as active, female participation grows in our community that the sexists get pushed further to the margins as unwelcome social pariahs.

There is some karmic justice in that, given how they insist on treating women now. But as more and more young women like Lunam on Reddit get involved, our community will change, for the better in my opinion. So my advice to the old guard with misogynist tendencies is to be aware that the demographics are shifting. Things are going to be different than what you've grown accustomed to and you are going to have to adapt to remain relevant.

To young women who want to be more involved: I'm sorry that it can sometimes seem like too many atheists are sexist. It isn't fair but I do think it will change -- slowly. And a major driver in that change will be young people like you. So please hang in there. Your presence and contributions to the community are actually valued by most of us. As you and other young women get openly involved, we can all push the sexists further to the margins of our movement.

[edit:  As was pointed out by my perceptive wife, my use of "young women" could be construed as sexist in itself. I do mean women in general ought to be made more welcome, not just young women. Though what inspired this post was the treatment by atheists of a young (fifteen year old) woman and my last paragraph was meant to be read as though addressed to her and other young people.]

Christopher Hitchens, 1949-2011

Last night, one of my favorite authors and speakers, Christopher Hitchens, died. 

He was a profoundly influential atheist and cultural commentator. I've lost count of how many eulogies for Christopher Hitchens I've read today. I've enjoyed most of them, especially the thoughtful ones that gave me pause to reflect on the flaws and triumphs of the man. Which I think is a fitting tribute to him, that even in death he inspires and challenges us to think critically, dammit. 

Rebecca Watson's article on him has been one of the better ones and includes some good links worth following.

Someday I will face my own death. I would like to have the courage and conviction of Mr. Hitchens. Though I know I'll lack his eloquence, I do hope I have wit and strength enough to send proselytizers who dare come to my death bed running in shame.

I'm glad that I was able to write to Mr. Hitchens, thank him for his work, and tell him that I appreciated him before he was gone. Mine was among thousands of letters that he received in the past year along with a series of touching tribute videos. He will be missed and the world is a less interesting place without him.

On Christmas

The idea that Christ is the true purpose of Christmas gets to be a theme around this time of year and that's fine if that is the central point of the holiday to you. However, that does not mean that the holiday is now and has only ever been about Christ. Nor does it mean that ignoring the various historical influences of a given holiday is automatically disrespectful or disingenuous.

History and forgotten religions are filled with Winter Solstice holidays and traditions. There are two ancient Roman holidays that predate Christianity by centuries. Saturnalia was celebrated in December and featured among other things gift giving and a break from school. Sol Invictus celebrated the virgin birth of the Sun god, Mithras, on December 25th. So popular were those two holidays that 4th Century Christians borrowed from them to create their own holiday, Christmas. It doesn't stop there. Ancient Celtic and Germanic cultures celebrated Winter Solstice holidays that featured mistletoe. It is from Norse mythology that we get the name Yule to describe the holiday as well as caroling, the Yule log, and ham as part of the traditional meal.

In fact we owe a lot of our holidays, dates, and names for things to ancient cultures, traditions, and religions. We rarely give those origins a second thought, let alone feel guilty about simultaneously ignoring those meanings while continuing to utilize the names and traditions.

Easter and its symbols are heavily influenced by an ancient Germanic holiday for the fertility goddess, Ēostre. January is named for the Roman god of doorways, Janus. February is named for the Roman holiday of purification. March is for Mars the Roman god of war. April is for the Greek goddess Aphrodite. May is for the Greek fertility goddess Maia. June is for the Roman Goddess Juno. Sunday is named for the Sun and Monday for the Moon, both were worshiped by many ancient cultures. Tuesday is for a Germanic god of war. Wednesday is the Norse god Odin's day. Thursday is the Norse god Thor's day. Friday is for a Germanic goddess. Saturday is named for the Roman god Saturn which brings us back around to Saturnalia and Christmas again.

Christmas is a wonderful holiday with a rich history of influences from past Winter Solstice holidays like Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, and Yule. A great many of us really enjoy the traditions, decorations, gift giving, and gatherings with family and friends. We love the holiday without need or want of the various religions that have shaped it, including Christianity.

Air Cannon, Year 3

This past Summer, some friends and I got together at my farm to once again play with the air cannon. We used a different, faster actuating valve to fire the cannon and definitely got more velocity out of the projectiles.

Todd shot some fun footage and compiled those clips with some from the high speed video cameras into a great video. I think he really captured the highlights of the day and the fun we were having shooting potatoes and lead cannon balls at water jugs, lines of fruit, an XBox, etc.

Enjoy!




Year 1

Year 2