Humanism, social democracy, political and social issues, progressivism, legal issues, journalism and media, opposing the religious right, mass communication.
American Humanist Association: .
Secular Coalition for America: .
Law
Music
Rock, folk, some jazz. The only major genre I really don't like is country.
Movies
The Ground Truth; any Mel Brooks movie, especially History of the World; Reds; Sophie's Choice; Legends of the Fall; Annie Hall; all the Monty Python movies, especially The Meaning of Life; American Beauty; An Inconvenient Truth; Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and many others that I'm not thinking of now.
Television
HBO; Sundance; IFC; Link; PBS
Books
Not enough space or time to list here. Corliss Lamont's "The Philosophy of Humanism" is a great starting point. So is Thomas Paine's "Age of Reason" and Walter Lippman's "A Preface to Morals." Richard Dawkins. Howard Zinn. Noam Chomsky. Carl Sagan. Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs & Steel." Barack Obama's autobiography, "Dreams from My Father." Also, "Hitler's Pope" by John Cornwell. "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Heroes
There are many, but here are a few who would be near the top of my list: Ralph Nader; Eugene Debs; Margaret Sanger; Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Robert Ingersoll; Carl Sagan; Gloria Steinem, Thomas Paine. And many others, of course.
Dave's Details
Status:
Married
Orientation:
Straight
Religion:
Agnostic
Zodiac Sign:
Leo
Children:
Proud parent
Education:
Grad / professional school
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You are probably a humanist. You approach the world from a natural standpoint, giving little weight to organized religion or traditional dogma and creed. You value reason and experience over superstition and supernatural beliefs. In identifying yourself, you would be inaccurate if you described your religious beliefs as Christian or as consistent with any revelation-based belief system.
Thanks for the add. ¶ People hear only what they want, so facts alone won't wake them; they'll need inspiration too. An echo of an echo of Buddha or Jesus becomes encrusted in ritual, and loses context and content. Still, we write what we can. Try to hear the questions behind people's questions. ¶ This world's diverse evils have a common root: Bullies, liars, thieves, and murderers — in market, government, and elsewhere — believe we're all separate, motivated only by self-interest, greed, fear. They want us to share that belief, for they use it to justify themselves, to keep us apart, to control politics and the economy, perpetuating war, poverty, and ecocide. Their power comes not so much from cabals as from trojan memes, ubiquitous propaganda, implicit in ads and in their framing of the news. ¶ But they're mistaken about our motives. You and I have found love inside ourselves and our friends. It's in everyone, if only we can wake them, for we're all one flesh and blood. Let's spread that vision, for until we do our other advances will be minor and temporary. The bureacracy of brutality cannot stand if we open the eyes of its workers. ¶ What is human nature? Our task is not just to describe what we see, but to choose what we hope to become. The ideological battle between love and fear shapes the world, and its outcome is not yet written. Watching, voting, shopping are not enough. If you haven't already, join the global conversation, in whatever way feels right for you. Worldwide enlightenment has no precedent, no rules; we must discover and erase them en route. Make love not war is as serious as Orwell and as light as "Chocolat." ¶ For a start, just talk with people; that may not sound like much, but really it's huge. Spread the word. Each of us knows only part of the song, but keep singing, hoping, resisting, questioning. Hand in hand, we may heal this world yet. — Eric
"I believe that there is no God… Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I’m not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it’s everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more… Believing there’s no God means I can’t really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That’s good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around… I don’t travel in circles where people say, 'I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith.'" –Penn Jillette
