Why I blog

I've always wanted to write my thoughts down and share them with others, but I've never committed to the exercise because I felt that someone else probably already described my ideas better than anything that I could come up with. I'm not claiming that I have a set of unique ideas here, but over the years, like anyone else, I've read many books and I've accumulated some knowledge.

One day I was watching “60 minutes” and there was an piece on this professor from Carnegie Mellon named Randy Pausch. The poor fellow was dying of pancreatic cancer and it just so happens that his wife was pregnant. He knew that he would not live long enough for his child to know him, so he decided to write a lecture for his unborn child called “The Last Lecture”. He wanted the lecture to capture his true essence – something that represents the legacy of his wisdom.

I can only say that this narrative moved me and got me thinking about my legacy. So I decided that I would write my thoughts down for my family. I'm not sure how much they will appreciate this blog, but I hope that it allows them to learn about who I am and what I believe in. I hope that I can pass along some “words of wisdom” to them and others. Let me confess right now that my blog will not be entirely focused on serious subjects, but at times it will consists of rants, observations, and hopefully a few laughs along the way.

I'm particularly interested in history, politics, economics, human behavior, and philosophy. Similar to a physicist, I think that there is a “unified theory” that brings together these areas into a set of simple philosophies that are layered on top of each other to form a means for making good decisions that are moral and ethical. One of my goals is to identify and describe simple ideas that form the basis of my beliefs and to give some references to some of the readings that helped me along the way. I'm not dogmatic in my beliefs, but there are some ideas that I believe in solemnly.

I think that everyone's personal philosophy should be composed of a simple set of rules that are like axioms in mathematics (i.e. they are thoughts that are so obviously true that they almost do not require proof). In my opinion, these ideas form the building blocks of beliefs and I consider them whenever I'm involved in any decision that involves others. I prefer that my rules consist of fairly general statements that can be applied to a variety of situations, instead of specific rules.  

For example, I prefer a generic statement like “do not force someone to do something that they do not want to do”, instead of a specific statement like “prohibit slavery”. Although the specific statement is definitely true, the generic statement can be used in many more circumstances.

To conclude this blog entry, here are my three most important virtues (simple rules of life):

1. Always use reason and a consistent set of beliefs. Think critically and act rationally. Being inconsistent and unreasonable surely is not the way to the truth.
2. Always try to understand the other person's perspective. If anything, the ability to see from another's perspective is what sets humans apart from the rest of the animals. It is the basis of many of the qualities that we hold in highest regard: kindness, charity, mercy, welfare, forgiveness. Far from being irrational, empathy confers a distinct advantage in any social situation. It provides a foundation for promises, contracts, and deals. This is the glue that binds society.
3. Always try to consider the long term consequences of your decisions. All too often people make perfectly rational decisions which turn out to be bad because they were framed with too limited a scope. They fail to consider the real consequences (meaning) of their actions.

Why I am an atheist

Whenever I confess to someone that I'm an atheist, the conversation typically becomes quite and uncomfortable and eyebrows raise slightly. But to be fair, my atheist position does not paint a complete picture of me as a person. It certainly leaves folks wondering if I have morals or ethics. Being an atheist just tells others that I don't believe in God. But, it doesn't tell them what I do believe in. Most people think that atheists are amoral or worse immoral. A better description for me is that I am a Secular Humanist, which rejects supernatural and religious explanations and deeply encourages intellectual reasoning with critical and free thought, it advocates individualism, the scientific process, and ethics based on education and sound thinking.

Given what I know about the general temperament of the American public, I generally don't volunteer such information to strangers. You may disagree with me, feel sorry, hate, or you may not care, but my goal is to reveal to you, over time, the kind of person that I am. This blog is for my family.

Generally speaking, I am a simple person. I don't profess that I am the smartest person or that I have all the answers. The shape of my beliefs has evolved over my life and will continue to do so. I truly believe in being good for the benefits of it. It's that simple. I don't need the threat of hell hanging over me or the disapproval of god to frighten me to be good. When you are bad to people, bad things happen to you. When you are good to others, good things generally come back to you. Look, I'm a realist and I know that sometimes good actions don't always end in good results. Please don't underestimate the importance of these statements. This is perhaps the biggest revelation of my life.

My view didn't just come upon me in a flash nor was I brainwashed by some friend. As a kid, every time I learned about religion, I was struck by the lack of humanity that I discovered. As I learned about such atrocities as the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust, it almost seemed unreal to me that these acts not only occurred, but they persisted over long periods of time. In a world dominated by religious following, I am profoundly discouraged by the lack of humanity that often accompanies these types of dogmatic belief systems. This type of behavior is not just a figment of the past, in the modern world we see the subjugation of women, honor killing, we see tribal killings in Bosnia, Rwanda, Somalia, and Afghanistan, just to name a few.

Even passages within the Bible itself espouse cruelty, which confounds me even more because this position is the exact opposite that is preached by church-goers. So, of course, I often talk to my most devout friends to understand theses incongruities.

A key question from my nephew initially puzzled me because it cut through bull and struck a real nerve. He said, “Uncle Joe, how is that most of the people in the world believe in God, but you don't? Why are they wrong and you're right?”

It's funny how kids can stun you with beautifully innocent questions. But the answer is quite simple: most people have the same religious beliefs as their parents. If your parents are Jews, you are likely a Jew, if you parents are Catholics, your likely a Catholic, if your parents are Islamic, you are likely Islamic, etc. How many people do you know, who actually investigated all or several of the major religions and chose the religion that most aligned with their moral compass? I'd bet the answer is few.

What I find most astonishing is the weakness behind the Bible's most famous set of moral guidelines – the 10 commandments. So, here is the list in all its pure glory:

1. There is only one God and you shall have no other gods.
2. Do not make an image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above - no false idols
3. Do not take the lord's name in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
5. Honor your Father and Mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house and wife

These commandments are weak to me because they don't cover many of the most basic and obvious human rights. This is probable because the Bible so openly endorses bad behavior:

1. It does not discourage or even admonish slavery
2. There are vast amounts of torture and cruelty throughout the text.
3. Honor your parents, but what about everyone else?
4. Men are given a superior status over women.
5. How about equal rights – regardless of any factor?
6. What about suffering?

Jesus spoke a far simpler version: Love God fully and your neighbor as yourself. But, there are so many inconsistencies in the Bible, that I cannot make it or any other religious text the basis for my beliefs.

Here are some alternative commandments:

The commandments not only apply to interacting with others, but they also apply to the way that you should treat yourself!

1. (Be Reasoable) Rely on logical reasoning, be open minded, think critically, act rationally, be consistent, and follow the scientific method
2. (Be Empathetic) Place yourself in other's shoes, be patient, forgiving, humble, and grateful
3. (Be Fair) Be orderly, judicious, just, seek compromise, consider the full consequences, and avoid prejudices
4. (Be Gracious) Be truthful, kind, genuine, courteous, and respectful
5. (Be Generous) Be generous, teach what you know, offer and deliver help sincerely to those who ask, need, deserve, and work to help themselves
6. (Be Dependable) Be faithful to your commitments and honorable in delivering your promises
7. (Do No Harm) Never steal, never cheat, never harm, and never force or deceive others to do something that they do not want to do
8. (Be Competent) Be diligent, competent, learned, practical, and productive
9. (Be Wise) Be efficient, resourceful, frugal, and prudent
10. (Be Balanced) Seek balance, simplicity, avoid waste and avoid excess