Trying to Sort Things Out...Not Having Much Luck

I haven't written very much as of late. It's been a very busy last couple of months; more so than usual. As of this Monday last I have retired from 38 years of teaching science. I didn't know how I would feel about that when the day finally came. Now that it's here, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's kind of an odd sensation. On the one hand, it hasn't really hit me yet that come August, that little packet of information that always arrives from the school in the mail will not be in my mailbox. It just seems like the start to a normal summer break. On the other hand, I know that this won't just be any normal summer...how I'll react to that in a few months will also be an unknown.

I originally had planned on staying a few more years, but the changes that have taken place at the school, and the accompanying turmoil, have made the decision for me. Well, those changes and my wife. She says she'd like to have me around a little while longer (too much stress), and since financially I can afford to retire, then I'd darn well better do it! Of course the stress never really goes away...it's just replaced by a different kind of stress. At this point, I have to deal with the stress of the unknown. As I said to one of my seniors, it kind of feels like I'm going away to college again. Excited, but scared at the same time.

Even in leaving, I'm still concerned about my "home away from home," where I've been teaching for the last 30 years. The changes that are taking place there are tearing the community apart. I'm not necessarily saying the changes are bad (some are, and some are necessary), what I'm saying is that there has been no time for the community to adjust to them. This in itself creates stress, because no one gets a chance to catch their breath. As a result, there are a lot of people looking for other schools, but as we all know the economy is not the best.

Now obviously, you're only hearing this from one perspective...mine. The school will no doubt survive, even with all of the changes taking place. The question is, what kind of school will emerge "out the other side," once all the changes take place. Well, I do know that whatever the school becomes, it's not the same place I've worked at all these years. It's a place I know longer want to be. It's time to go.

That Answers Nothing

P.Z. Meyers is at it again, and once again he writes a thoroughly entertaining piece in Pharyngula. How to summarize the bible in one sentence. Having it make any sense is a different story all together! http://tinyurl.com/4jvpht3

Pat Robertson

When I was a boy, my parents (mother..dad wouldn't have cared) made sure I went to bible school every Sunday. As I got older, it was church. By this time my adolescent brain had figured out this was all a bunch of malarkey. In fact, I think I had that figured out when I was about 9 years old. Of course to say anything in that regard was to risk being tossed out of the family. Well maybe not quite that bad, but it was easier to keep my mouth shut and just put up with my once a week duty. Besides, it wasn't all that bad. I sat in the back of the church with a girl named Cathy... so I'm not all that sure what any of the sermons were about. All I know is that there were some Sundays when that service went by way too fast!

In any case, when the opportunity (college) arose to stop going to church...I stopped. Besides, Cathy went away to college, and I rarely saw her after that. People say that as you start to get older, religion begins to take on more meaning in your life. In my case it was just the opposite. It still is. The older I get, the more ridiculous it becomes (at least to me).

To prove my point, I offer you the latest joke of the day, Pat Robertson. How in the world men like this can call themselves Christians is beyond me. We've seen things like this happen time and time again. AIDS is a plague from God to punish us for putting up with homosexuality...9/11..yup, another punishment from God. And now Haiti. Through all the sorrow and devastation going on in that country, the best a man like Pat Robertson can do is to blame it on a "pact with the devil" that supposedly happened many years ago. God certainly does hold a grudge, doesn't he?

The news media makes a big deal about donations coming from religious groups, but two of my favorite groups are quietly going about the business of saving lives without all that much publicity. One is the Red Cross and the other is Doctor's Without Borders. Both of these groups will/have received my financial support.

As far as Robertson goes...he is an old joke that is no longer funny. He and his kind should be kicked to the dustbin of history and ignored. There's too much work to do to bother with the likes of him and his cronies.

Summer Camps for Atheists' Children

I've been away for a few months. Well not actually away, but away from blogging since the beginning of April. I've been spending all my free time trying to get a new internet business up and running. I've always been a fan of antiques and collectibles, and I have a particularly soft spot for pottery and porcelain. In any case I decided to take the plunge and open a business selling these items online. It's a lot of work, as any new business can be. And of course, the way the economy is now, I feel like I opened a store selling refrigerators at the start of the next ice age. As a result, this blog has been neglected for a while. Hopefully that will change, although I still won't be able to post with the frequency I'd like.

So, for this first post since March I'd like to touch briefly on an article I saw in this morning's Trenton Times. I tried to post a link to it so you could read it yourself, however the article is strangely absent from the online version of the paper. I did find the article from a different source, so the link goes there if you're interested. Click on the title above.

Apparently there is a summer camp in California that caters to children from atheist families. Camp quest, which started in 1996 in Ohio and is now offered in Minnesota, Michigan, Tennessee and Ontario has been in existence in California for the past 4 years. The California branch opened with 14 campers and after 4 years boasts and attendance of 49. The camp apparently does little in the way of advertising, but word spreads through various atheist chat sites.

The campers participate in many of the traditional summer camp experiences, but exercises in critical thinking are included. Many of the campers are not atheists..but they're not really sure what they believe. Many of the discussions reflect these attitudes, and the the camp welcomes, and indeed encourages this kind of "thinking for yourself".

I found it interesting but not surprising that I was unaware of the existence of these camps. It's quite encouraging to know that many of today's kids finally have a place they can discuss issues of belief without the negative scrutiny that can go with it. Maybe there really is some hope for the future after all.

An Interesting Thing Happened the Other Day.

Two weeks ago, I gave an assignment to my biology class dealing with genetic engineering. The question posed was, "Argue for or against this statement..."Extending the human lifespan through the use of genetic engineering would be a good thing for the human race." They were to write their paper "on line" and then the other students in class would read and critique their argument. The catch was that the students had to read and critique another student's paper using the opposing point of view of the original writer. The idea here was to get the students to see both sides of the argument. The thing that really surprised me was that out of 15 students, 6 said that extending the human lifespan would not be a good thing. What was the reason? Not overcrowding...not scarcity of resources...nope! It would go against God's will!

I really wasn't expecting that at all. What was difficult was explaining to them why I had to take points off...because religious beliefs, even if they might be correct (had to put that in there for the parents...wish I had the nerve to not do that), had no business in a scientific paper. They seem to have understood the problem...and I haven't had any parents call as of yet...but wow!...what a surprise!

It was a really good assignment...and I'll be ready next time!

President Obama...The Anti-Christ?

A week before the election, I overheard a conversation on the phone between my wife and her sister. Her sister lives in the southern part of the country, so we don't get to see her very often. Now I like my sister-in-law...she's a hard-working divorced mother of two who is doing her best to make ends meet. Unfortunately, most of the people who live in her area of the country are quite religious...indeed it would not be an exaggeration to say that the fundies are out and about most Sundays.

In any case, the gist of the conversation was that the reverend at my sister-in-law's church had told the congregation that a vote for Obama was a vote for the Anti-Christ. Apparently the entire sermon consisted of one dire warning after another of the calamities that would occur if this man were elected President. Indeed, when my wife told her sister that both of us were voting for Obama, my wife proceeded to get a 10 minute lecture on how we would pay for our decision in the afterlife.

Needless to say, my wife and I had quite a conversation after she hung up. It made us wonder how many people sitting in church that Sunday totally disagreed with what was said, and did nothing. How many of those folks talked at coffee after services and nodded in agreement with the reverend, with their neighbors, and were appalled by what was said that day...and said or did nothing.

Now before you say to yourself, "well how is that different then keeping quiet about being an atheist or and agnostic?", remember...these people were presumably there because they were believers. Was it the "Christian" thing to do to preach this drivel that Sunday? The thing that frightens me the most is maybe everyone in church that day agreed with what was said. I can only hope that there were a few in attendance that Sunday who were so angered at what they heard, it will goad them into action of some sort. Obviously, these people who believe Obama is the Anti-Christ are in the minority, but until this type of nonsense is ended, there's little hope that sanity and reason will be the hallmarks of this once great country for a long time to come. Hopefully this president will be the one to start us back on the path of enlightenment. I'm not optimistic.

Limbaugh on Obama..."I Hope He Fails."

This post has nothing to do with religious beliefs or lack of such. No, today's post instead deals with something so incredible I cannot fathom it, no matter how I try. Yesterday on his show, conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh came right out with it. He doesn't like Obama's politics...and regardless of whether Obama's plan works to turn the economy around...Limbaugh wants him to fail. His exact words..."I hope he fails."

Now just think about that for a minute. Even if the president's plan would be guaranteed to succeed, Limbaugh wants it to fail because he doesn't like the brand of politics involved in trying to help this country's economy, and with it the entire world's economy, to become strong again. Regardless of what a failing economy is doing to the middle and lower classes...in fact, all the classes, Limbaugh wants this plan to fail!

Of course, there's no alternative plan brought forth...no ideas as to how to proceed in a different direction. Just criticism...not just criticism, but the hope for a failure and continued downturn the likes of which will tear this country apart. "I want him to fail." The reasoning behind this boggles the mind. What may I ask, Mr. Limbaugh, have the conservatives done in the last eight years to prevent this? Unchecked greed and lack of government oversight put us in this mess. Does he really expect the American people to trust in more of the same to put this right?

As an independent most of my life, I have voted Republican. In theory, I agree with many of the conservative points of view in regards to what government should be able to do and not do. But that hasn't been the case lately at all. Mr. Limbaugh just doesn't get it. It's time to think outside the box. It's time to try something new. The time for sitting idle with our thumb up our...lower part of our anatomy is over. We're in trouble. It's time for some new ideas...and it's HIGH time that we put partisan politics aside and worked together to get out of this mess.

So Mr. President...some out there may want you to fail at what you're trying to accomplish, but I will bet they are in a small minority. The majority of us are ready to role up our sleeves and pitch in to help. Good luck to you Mr. President. Good luck to us all.