Religious Less Likely To Believe In Life On Other Planets

 

The Pew Research Center surveyed a national sample of 10,415 adults between June 14th and 24th, and their survey had a 1.5 point margin of error. It showed that religious people are less likely, and non-religious are more likely, to believe that intelligent life exists on other planets.

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness

The words above are from this nation's Declaration of Independence - a document whose importance is surpassed only by the United States Constitution. The words were used as the justification for breaking away from England, and establishing our own nation -- and they are words that all Americans say they believe.

But do we all really believe in those words? Do we really think all Americans have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? I think most Americans do believe that, but there is an element in this country (mostly on the extreme right) who don't believe those words should guide this country. They would deny all three of those "unalienable" rights to accomplish their own purposes (to get and retain power).

 LIFE

What does a right to life actually mean? In the most basic sense, just the right to continue living on this earth. But to continue living, a person must have some basic things. They must have food, shelter, and medical care. Without any of these three necessities, a person's life is shortened or ended.

It seems obvious to me that to provide the right to life for all Americans, the government (which in our democracy is us -- the people) must provide assistance to the disadvantaged among us -- those who through no fault of their own cannot provide their own food, shelter, and medical care. We should do this both to fulfill the words of our Founding Fathers, but also out of common decency -- because we know it is the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, we have those (and sadly many are elected officials) who would deny their fellow citizens these basic necessities to sustain life. They would cut government programs providing food and shelter to the disadvantaged -- and eliminate programs that provide medical care to those who cannot afford expensive private insurance policies. And they would do it for the most venal of reasons -- to provide tax cuts and other giveaways to the richest people in the country (those who can already provide for their own necessities of life).

I submit this view violates both the spirit and the words written in our Declaration of Independence (which is the justification for the very existence of our nation). It is mean-spirited, indecent, and un-American.

LIBERTY

Liberty is the sustaining of our freedom. It is the right to live as we please (as long as we don't deny the rights of others) and choose those who would lead our country.

The most important necessity for maintaining our liberty is the right to vote. This is a right that every citizen should have, and no citizen should be denied for any reason. Without the right to vote for everyone, our democracy is limited -- or extinguished altogether.

But there are those in this country who would deny the right to vote to some of our citizens. They do it to further their own ends, and they do it in a myriad of ways (voter ID laws, gerrymandering, limiting polling stations in certain areas, etc.). These people want to force their views on all Americans, even though they don't believe they can win a fairly-held election.

A second necessity for the preservation of our liberty (democracy) is a free and unfettered press. The press must be able to report the truth and inform the public, because without an informed public there can be no democracy. The press must be free of government pressure and influence, and have the ability to report the truth (regardless of who that hurts or helps). In fact, the only requirement that should be placed on the press is that what they report is true.

But there are those who don't respect truth or the ability of the press to report it. They want only their point of view represented (even if it can't be substantiated by facts), and they try to suppress and/or demonize those who report the truth. Sadly, the leader of this anti-truth movement at present is our president (and his die-hard supporters) -- who want to bail anything that disagrees with them as "fake news".

Those who would deny the vote to any Americans, or who would try to keep the truth from being reported, are trying to deny basic liberty to Americans -- and those pose a danger to our democracy.

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

The pursuit of happiness is listed third in this trilogy of rights, but it is no less important than the others. It is the ability of all citizens to make their own choices in life, to be able to go as far in life as their abilities and hard work will take them, and to be treated fairly with regard to the law and opportunity.

Sadly, there are also those in this country who would deny this pursuit of happiness to many citizens. The most egregious of these deniers would take us back to an America where rights were held only by white, male, heterosexuals. They would relegate minorities, women, and homosexuals to a second-class status -- making it much harder for them to pursue happiness in their own lives.

We have seen a resurgence of this kind of perverted thinking in this country recently, as some groups (KKK, white supremacists, neo-nazis, and other haters and bigots) seek to mainstream their own sick bigotry. They don't want a real democracy where all citizens have the right to pursue their own goals and live their lives as they please. They want to dictate to everyone else their own racism, misogyny, and homophobia. We cannot allow that to happen, as it is a violation of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the American Dream, and common decency.

Do you, as an American, believe in the words in our Declaration of Independence -- that all men are created equal, and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? If so, then now is the time to step forward and do your part to make that a reality.

The Racist Response To "Black Lives Matter"

A movement has been started among many Black Americans (and Whites who believe in equality and the sanctity of life). It is called "Black Lives Matter" -- and it is a reasonable response to the numerous shootings of unarmed Blacks by the police in this country. One would have to deny (or ignore) the truth to not believe that it is far more dangerous in this country to be a Black person, as far as dealing with the police, than it is to be a White person.

But there has been a response to the "Black Lives Matter" movement that I'll have to admit bothers me. It is a meme (seen all over social media these days) that says "all Lives Matter". This "All Lives Matter" meme purports to be a loving and humanistic one. I don't think that's true. And I think those that support it are either ignorant or involved in a right-wing (and racist) effort to counter (and defeat) the movement to insure equal rights and treatment of Blacks in this country.

The "Black Lives Matter" movement has never said that only Black lives matter. They are just saying that Black lives should matter as much as White lives when it comes to the police (or any other institution in this country). And anyone who thinks they ever said or meant that is either stupid or ignorant. They just want all lives to matter equally.

The truth, in my opinion, is that the "All Lives Matter" movement is an invention of the racist right-wing in this country -- people who don't want change, or equality. They like the status quo, and they don't want to see any change. They are the same people who don't want Blacks to vote -- or to have an equal chance for an education or a job. They know that they can't come right out and say equality is bad, so they put their hopes for maintaining White privilege on that innocent sounding meme. They don't truly believe all lives matter. They are just trying to demonize the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

We still have a serious problem with racism in this country, and that racism becomes very dangerous when it is evidenced in organizations like the police -- because it than results in the unnecessary loss of Black lives. White parents don't worry that their children will be killed by the police when they leave home, but that worry is real (and justified) among Black parents. That must change -- and it won't change by ignoring the problem, or covering it up with happy sounding memes.

It Is Up To You To Put The Meaning In Life

Does life have any meaning? More specifically, does your own life have meaning? Those are the questions discussed in the following article by Dan Barker (pictured), the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. I found his article on the FFRF Facebook page, and I think it is something that as many people as possible should read. Mr. Barker says:

“As an atheist, I’m often told that life is meaningless without God. If everything ends in the eventual death of a cold and uncaring universe, there is no ultimate purpose. Without a creator, I hear, there can be no absolute justice or morality. If life is not eternal, our accidental fleeting existence is an absurd joke, leading inexorably to nihilism and hopeless despair. I used to preach the “good news” of the Gospel, so I completely understand why believers crave purpose-driven lives. They want to feel loved and guided by a wise parent. They want to be told what their role is. They don’t want existence to be random and insignificant. They need life to “make sense” in a big way, in the cosmic picture. But it doesn’t. And we shouldn’t want it to. Reality is not determined by our wants, needs or fears.

Ironically, it is we atheists who offer the truly good news that there is no purpose of life. If there were, that would cheapen us, making us second-class citizens, turning us into servants, like the biblical writers boasted they had become, pretending there is purpose in glorifying a lord.

Asking “If there is no God, what is the purpose of life?” is like asking “If there is no master, whose slave will I be?”

Unshackled from the demands of a dictator, we are truly free to live. But notice that saying there is no purpose of life does not mean there is no purpose in life. As long as there are challenges, as long as there are problems to solve, there will be purpose in life.

Who would dare claim that Elizabeth Cady Stanton had a meaningless life? She was an atheist who worked for a half century for gender equality, including the radical notion that women should participate in their own democracy, resulting in the 19th Amendment.

Nonbelievers have worked to combat hunger, illness, natural disasters, war (often religiously motivated), poverty, racism, child abuse (often by clergy), oppression, ignorance, crime, cruelty to animals, pollution, environmental degradation (often by dominionist believers), species decimation, political corruption, corporate greed, unsafe working conditions, exploitation and overpopulation (often caused by religious pronatalist policies). Confronting these challenges gives life meaning. Problem solving can also be positive: There are real challenges to parenting, education, science, history, creating beauty, art, music, literature, poetry, theater, architecture, entertainment, cooking, gardening — and you can think of more. Meeting these challenges enriches our lives. Those who believe in God also do these things, of course — they are good people, too — and this shows that we all ultimately care about this world, the real world. Whatever the challenges are, they are natural, not supernatural. The decisions are made by us, not by a deity.

So it is about you, contrary to what the Rev. Rick Warren preaches in “Purpose Driven Life,” a book of repackaged old-fashioned Christian fundamentalism. Because there is no purpose of life, you get to choose. If you don’t, you are living someone else’s life.

The preachers have it backward. If life is eternal, then life is cheap. Value does not come from surplus; it comes from rarity. Prices rise as supply drops.

Suppose you are looking forward to a vacation in a few weeks. Perhaps you are planning to ski, swim, hike, explore, travel, visit friends or relatives. But then you realize, “Oh! When it’s over I’ll have to come back to work!” Would you cancel your vacation? If it has no “ultimate meaning,” is it worthless? Of course not. Life is its own reward. As the nonbelieving songwriter Jerome Kern said, “Life is to be enjoyed.”

Do you want purpose in life? Then find a problem to solve and start working on it. Often you don’t have to find it — it finds you. Perhaps a sibling or parent dies of a rare disease and you dedicate your life to curing it. Perhaps you are disturbed by inequality in society, so you strive to eliminate it. Whatever the problem is, you are the one who chooses to act. It is your purpose, and yours alone.

Do you want meaning in life? Then create it. You be the creator.”

All Lives Matter

(This image is from the Facebook page of Social Justice Solutions.)

There is a lot of truth contained in this photo. Too much of the world's problems are caused by people not valuing the lives of other people. And that is especially true in the United States -- the supposed "bastion of freedom and human rights".

It is time we realized that American lives are not more important than the lives of people in other countries (even countries with governments we don't like), the lives of Whites don't matter more than the lives of people of other races or colors or ethnicities, the lives of men don't matter more than the lives of women, the lives of the rich are not more important than the lives of the poor, the lives of healthy people are not superior to the lives of the sick, and the lives of heterosexuals do not have more value than the lives of homosexuals.

But perhaps most important of all, we need to realize that corporate profits are not more important than the life of any human being anywhere in the world.

Even primitive "caveman" societies knew that they were their brother's keeper. Why is that concept so hard for many "modern" humans to understand?