Hello Blog

I haven't been using you much of late.

I'm sorry.

The Whine of Postmodernism

Of late, I've been finding the statement "there are two sides to this issue," spoken like some sort of a revelation, to be one of the most redundant and presumptuous phrases a person might use in an argument. The term carries itself with it a false sense of revelation and logic - as if the statement itself is an argument rather than an observation. It's getting to me - it assumes that just because there are two sides (or more) that their arguments are as equally valid as yours or demand an equal degree of respect... how noxiously postmodern.

Yes, there are two side to this issue. There are two or more sides to every issue. But just because there are doesn't make your side automatically more valid, logical, and worthy of respect.

Reflections

A month ago I was gluing pottery in the prehistoric lab with my biggest concern being finding the right rim sherd to combine with another rim sherd. Right now, I haven't been in the lab for two weeks and haven't glued a single piece of pottery together - I kinda miss it.

The world feels odd right now. Then again, it always feels odd on these life-changing leaps I've taken into the habit of doing for the past two years to radically alter my lifestyle within weeks if not days. Odd, though this is odder.

Since I've gotten very actively involved with the student solidarity group supporting the part-time faculty at my university, I couldn't help but feel odd. A month ago I was gluing pottery, now I'm thinking up of ways to bee a pest to the administration so that they would cooperate and give my profs what they deserve in terms of benefits and compensation. It's Machiavellian business and I wonder if it's actually me (though... I think I'm good at it).

A week ago I thought that a month from then I will be gluing pottery - hopefully in a month this thing will be settled. Right now, I hope so to but I wonder if that will be my future for all the free time I'll have at the university. I never really wanted to be an activist - the guy that would jump on a chair for a cause or know about an issue so much that he can recite it in his sleep (and did). The secular movement was one thing - a mess of court cases with a comfortable icing of stock arguments on top, this is a battle of world views over labour relations and casualisation of the workforce and the implications of that for the academia. It is a battlefield in which words like "strike," "conciliation," and "mediation," are used. And this is part of a war of ideologies, politics, grounded upon the most basic assumptions people have. I don't know if I like this war, I fought in it before and I can't say I'd like to be an active participant in it again.

In ten days a strike may happen, the likelihood is up in the air dependent upon the students and the administration's willingness to listen to us. A strike will be terrible and I'm weighing the consequences of joining the picket lines or going though them and continuing the fight on campus. I have enormous duties and responsibilities to both sides and I stand to make enemies in whichever course I take. In two weeks, I might be a different man.

Or a strike will not happen and we win. What then? Could I actively go back and shut myself in the prehistoric lab just to glue little pot sherds together after looking into the eyes of hundreds of students at my university in over sixty classes and telling them to support the part-timers because they have been abused? Perhaps I could. Though it would be an interesting experience of sinking back into the crowd.

A week ago, I thought it would be easy but I don't really know now of what will happen. One thing is certain though - the world for me would never be the same.

Something to reflect on.

The End is Near, Film at Eleven

The title of the news article - "Sun Will Vaporize Earth Unless We Can Change Our Orbit." The end is nigh! Just... 7.6 billion years away.

Small World Moment

My mother told me that in Keller Citizen, the newspaper of my former town, an article appeared on the valedictorian of my graduating class and how she survived a tornado that ripped though her campus at Union university in Tennessee.

Meagan Tobosa counts herself blessed even though she lost most of her possessions in a Feb. 5 tornado in Tennessee.

Tobosa, a sophomore at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and the valedictorian of Central High School’s first graduating class in 2006, was at a friend’s house 20 minutes away doing laundry when the storm hit.

“My roommate called, and she said, ‘Our room is gone. Our room is gone,’ ” Tobosa said.

The tornado, part of the most devastating storm system in more than two decades, killed 58 people in five states; 30 in Tennessee alone. Although Union University took a direct hit, with the tornado wiping out about 80 percent of on-campus housing, no one died. Nine students were seriously injured.

Wow... that would be a really scary experience when your room gets demolished. I didn't her that well - my best memory of her is her walking into Calculus everyday and saying "I don't get it!" But I'm glad to see she's alright and nobody was killed.

Fortunately, her parents and the students and faculty of Central High School helped her out extremely in getting new brand possessions for her. The classes at Union university resumed on February 20th. One thing that struck me toward the end which I found rather amusing. Meagan said -

“I think everyone knows just how amazing God is in everything that happened,” Tobosa said. “There’s nothing you can do in the face of such devastation, but it’s going to end up being right.”

Yes Meagan, I'm sure God was "amazing" when he let that tornado rip through your room, injuring nine of your fellow students, damaging much of your campus, and killing 58 people as part of the storm it was in. All the wonderful people I left back in Texas aside - the place is still living in the Dark Ages.

Sometimes...

The tinfoil hat does sit too tight... on anyone.

LFA's New Constitution

To all those that are curious, here is LFA's New Constitution in full. Like I said, basically the old constitution only modified with a few extra lines for clarity:

Goals

- To provide a place where people that follow no religion can congregate and find others like them. That being said, we are open to anyone of all faiths and belief systems so long as they remain civil in discussion with fellow group members. In fact, we encourage people of all faiths to attend events and meetings, thus is the nature of free inquiry.

- To provide a place where people that value skepticism and scientific naturalism over superstition and dogmatism can congregate and discuss issues pertaining to these said values. That being said, we are open to anyone of all faiths and belief systems so long as they remain civil in discussion with fellow group members. In fact, we encourage people of all faiths to attend events and meetings, thus is the nature of free inquiry.

- To promote reason, science, freedom of inquiry, and secularism on campus

- To participate in open dialogue between religious groups on campus to show people that the two can co-exist in harmony.

- To show the campus that it is more than possible to live a moral, happy, ethical, and fulfilling life as an individual that has no particular religious affiliation. This being said, the Laurier Freethought Alliance doesn’t promote anti-religion or disrespect of religion, but it does value the right to be critical of any and all belief systems, even those of its own members.

Why does it benefit the Laurier community?

- because there are a plethora of religiously affiliated clubs on campus but none for people who are non-theists. We will provide an informative, fun, respectful, and safe outlet for individuals to participate in discussion of topics pertaining to religion, science, secularism, freedom of inquiry, free speech, and anything else that is of interest to our members.

- Our events are sure to create open dialogue between the different religious clubs. Done in a civil manner this will promote the multi-faith that comes to symbolize the freedom we enjoy as Canadians.

Events

God Debate: We will bring in a speaker of our choice to argue against the existence of God and will invite the religious clubs to invite speakers to argue for the existence of god. This event will be moderated so it remains civil. It will promote open dialogue between religious clubs and will come to exemplify the participation of faiths towards a common goal: understanding.

Debunking Myths about Atheism: A lecture in which a speaker debunks the myths of atheism. There is much misinformation about atheists that we would like to despell as to allow people to better understand who we are.

Superstition Bash: An even held in the concourse where we encourage people to come and face their fear over superstition. For example, they can walk under a ladder, say hail mary 7 times in a mirror, break a mirror, or have a black cat cross their path- permitting that these sorts of things are allowed in the concourse. If not then it can be held outdoors.

Magic Show (Penn and Teller style): We would have a magician come in and give hybrid show involving lecturing and magic. The point of this presentation is to illustrate how easy it is for even the smartest people to be fooled. It will teach the importance of skepticism when confronted with extraordinary claims. This event is both entertaining and informative.

If anyone out there forming a club on their campus, feel free to borrow from ours for ideas.

Laurier Freethought Alliance is Open For Business!

The Laurier Freethought Alliance has been recognized!

Today we had our first meeting on campus and while that was going on the Campus Clubs department sat down and discussed the issue with the new constitution and that's it, it's over, it's done, nine months and six days of havoc and a several interviews, we have done it! This is the moment we have been waiting for.

And you know what's best? I read over our new constitution, nothing changed in it except the additions of two sentences stating that we will be welcoming to religious people who wish to have meaningful discourse over the topics of religion and that we will not vindictively attack people of religious faith. That's it! We're a club and the Campus Clubs is happy; no one's values were compromised. I'll post a copy of our constitution online tomorrow once I get it. This is honestly the best of all victories, one in which nobody looses and everybody wins. I am remarkably happy it turned out that way and that both sides have found the means to have meaningful discourse in spite of a raging internet controversy. It's truly wonderful.

Some closing thoughts? Well, we certainly couldn't have done it this fast without the blog attention, or the media attention in the university newspaper, the local newspaper, and the Globe and Mail. Plus both me and Tyler Handley were on local TV in all of this. I would lie if I said that I didn't appreciate, even mildly, all the support and concern we got. For a brief time, our tiny club in our little university in a small Canadian town got the publicity of some of the biggest secular blogs online and it was a great experience to have everyone showing concern and atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and the generally non-religious standing up for each other. However, in some cases, the paranoia and distrust of some individuals went to extremes and the complains, which we never asked for, were worded very harshly. And, while I would lie if I said that I didn't think that this attention expedited the process tremendously, it wasn't the thing that did it. The thing that got us club status was sitting down with the key players from their side, discussing what needed to be done, filling out the appropriate paperwork, and getting accepted professionally. I think we have shown that calm, rational discourse prevails in the end and great things can be accomplishes with just understanding what the other side wants and how both can work together without compromising each other's goals. Like I emphasized in my previous entry "cooler heads prevail."

As for the LFA, we're glad to be running. February 12th is Darwin Day and we'll see if we can hand out free bananas to people on campus... about 150 of them. I honestly think that every secular university should have a freethought club dedicated toward people who are of a non-religious persuasion, bringing out positive discourse, forging friendships, and carving out a corner for the non-religious people in this society who base their lives in other values rather than ones derived through authority and tradition. In the course of the events I was contacted by a grad student at the University of Western Ontario about tips about forming one and I think that's great. Anyone that might be reading from that area, take note. Well, my tips? Be tactful, be respectful, be freethinking, but especially be you. There are many misconceptions about non-religious in this society, especially ones like me who call themselves "atheists," and the biggest one has to be that they are belligerent, combative, and argumentative. The best way to fight that stereotype is simply by not being one - more things can be done with simple respect.

If you're curious about the progression of this story, here's the chronological breakdown of entries:

First reaction
Our response
All the blogs that sent in their support
Ensuing havoc
Working to resolve the crisis and defining our position as a club
Media attention and further steps toward resolution
More media attention
Our acceptance as a club

Front Page News

I never thought this would happen, but there I am, and there's my picture.

News of the week, ladies and gentlemen, created from my little computer... holy shit... Well written though, plenty of kudos to Barbara. More updates on how this day will go later tonight.

This story is now over, if you're curious about the progression of this story, here's the chronological breakdown of entries:

First reaction
Our response
All the blogs that sent in their support
Ensuing havoc
Working to resolve the crisis and defining our position as a club
Media attention and further steps toward resolution
More media attention
Our acceptance as a club

Discovery Channel Extravaganza

I'm on the Discovery Channel (the Canadian one)! As part of a show on the forensics dig I did in the fall.