On Patriotism this Fourth of July

Well, it's Independence Day, 4th of July 2008. This has always been one of my favorite holidays, not just because of its national significance, but because it's in the middle of summer when the weather is warm. I love warm weather. I see myself as just as patriotic as most Americans, but I've never been much of a flag waver. To me, that's insincere. I think that one should show patriotism through charity, donating one's time to public service and conserving our country's natural resources. Waving the flag costs you nothing and requires no effort or sacrifice on your part. So who's more patriotic, the person who does nothing but stick a flag on the bumper of his gas guzzling and environmentally destructive SUV or the person who donates his or her time and money to causes which better the lives of fellow citizens?

Sadly, conservative demagogues in my country, the USA, have cynically usurped the flag and patriotic words like "freedom" to justify jingoism, excessive militarism, a hegemonic foreign policy, and the suppression of basic rights at home. Defending the writ of habeas corpus and our constitutional prohibition against "unreasonable search and seizure" (electronic and otherwise) from a government that is attempting to disregard them is patriotic! Attacking other countries who did not attack us is not!

And when Americans stand up and demand that our government respect the principles of human rights and the rule of law that used to define what America stood for, conservatives accuse them of being "unpatriotic!" What hypocritical nonsense!

Books

Finished reading the book "God Is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens.  It's well written and direct, although at some points he sounds a bit pugnacious and condescending.  Because of his harsh tone, I rather doubt that it will impress many theists and inspire them to question their beliefs.  I think he's preaching to the choir (yes, a rather odd phrase to use here).  But overall, it's  worth reading.

I also read the book "The Devil in Dover" by Lauri Lebo a few weeks ago.  It's about the Dover, PA evolution vs "Intelligent Design" (ID) (a.k.a. creationism) court case which transpired in 2005 and resulted in ID being appropriately labeled a "breathtaking inanity."  This is a very good book and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the battle of science vs superstition in our public schools.

Hello Blogosphere

OK, so I'm finally starting my own blog.  I wonder if anyone is going to read it, but I guess it doesn't really matter.  The purpose of this blog is mainly to give me a place to vent and rant.  I'm going to write mostly about contemporary issues relating to the rise of religious fundamentalism in the United States, the assault on reason, and the grotesque incompetence of the current administration in the White House.  Maybe along with the zillion other blogs out there on the net, this will be of use to some future historian who is trying to make sense of the early part of the Twenty-First Century.

So, about me:  I'm a 45-year old American male.  I'm divorced and have two young children.  I have an undergraduate degree in Geology from a well-known university in California and a Master's degree in computer geekery from an old Ivy League college in New England. I've worked as a software developer for the past twenty years primarily in the aerospace field.  I like to think that I'm well-read and well-informed about politics, history, science, and life in general. Others may disagree with me on this.

I'm an atheist.  I'm an atheist because I find no credible evidence that any god or supernatural entity exists or ever has existed and I find very solid and convincing evidence that God is entirely a human invention.  No, I can't prove that God doesn't exist and I can't be 100% sure that He does not exist, but I can say the same thing about unicorns and the Tooth Fairy.  Yes, being an atheist puts me in one of the most (unfairly) distrusted minority groups in the United States, but the evidence is what it is.

So I'm going to write about how destructive I believe that religion is to society.  I don't believe that religion is the cause of all of the World's problems, but I do believe that the World would be a much more peaceful, humane, and compassionate place if all theistic religions were to suddenly vanish.