Humanist Thought of the Week

We are All Fools

We are all fools.  

Well – I am.  Or, at least I think I am.

There is a ton of stuff I don’t know. And I’m often accidentally, socially inept.

I find accepting the fact that I’m going to make a fool out of myself from time to time frees me from worrying about it.

Being foolish is kind of like death. It’s going to happen. Why worry about it in the meantime.

And in those moments when I do find that I’ve done something foolish, accepting my foolishness allows me to recover from my foolishness gracefully.

I own it. Apologize for it, make a self-deprecating joke and move on.  

And – for the most part, people let me move on. 

Because – we are all fools. 

It’s not always about you!

People seem to get offended a lot.

And it seems religious speech is the most offensive.

Religious people get offended when someone says – hey – that pretty stupid.

Non-religious people get offended when they are told they are stupid for not believing things they think are pretty stupid. 

If you ask me – it’s all pretty stupid.

What everyone needs to understand when they are offended by the religious speech of others  is ....  It’s not about you! 

It’s about the speaker and their views and their feelings and their experiences.

You don’t have to be offended. You can ignore them.

And that would be the smart thing to do! 

Please Think Responsibly

Thinking is hard.

Just ask my son after 3 pages of math homework.

His brain gets tired and what was easy half an hour ago becomes nearly impossible.

If you want to make good decisions, you need to take care of your brain properly.

 A brain is an organ and a muscle.

And like any muscle, it has to be exercised properly and it can get tired.

You have to feed it properly and it also likes to play some too.

In order to think well you have to practice thinking well, actively and intentionally.

Be a responsible brain owner and please think responsibly.

Playing Hookey

Have you ever woken up on a cold day and thought, I don’t want to get out of bed.

I feel that way all the time.

The problem is that I am a parent. 

I can’t play hookey.

I have responsibilities.

My son has to get ready for school, and I have to take him places and make sure he is fed and his homework done.

Sure I’m cold and my bed is nice and warm.

But I’m a mom. And I love being a mom.

So I get out of bed and do my duty.

And I find that being responsible feels a lot like love.

And that’s a good thing.

Charlie Hebdo & Free Speech

As a Humanist I am all for free speech. 

You can say anything you want.

But free speech also means - so can anyone else.

People are not only free to disagree with you – they are free to tell you they think you are an idiot for holding the views you do.

This isn’t to say that free speech doesn’t entail responsibility. It does.

There are consequences to all speech.  And we should all accept those consequences. 

However, the consequences for speech you don’t like should be ... more speech! 

And for the record, death threats and murder are not only not considered speech, they aren’t a very good way to make your views known. 

I hate to talk to people like they are children but... use your words!!!!