It was exactly three years ago that I launched this blog, three years ago to the minute.
It's hard to imagine a road sign that encapsulates my personal point of view more eloquently. Instead of falling rocks or an icy bridge this sign is warning you about something potentially more dangerous: Christianity. And not just Christianity, but by extension the sign warns us about all religious belief, whether it be housed in a church, temple, mosque or synagogue. And not just religion. By extension the sign is warning us all about the dangers of fuzzy, illogical beliefs: whether it be the idea that vaccines cause autism, intelligent design is science, or Bigfoot is hiding in the mountains.
So beware, there's a church ahead. Proceed with caution, and hold onto your skepticism.
This is not only my three year anniversary, its my 1000th post. Looking back at my first post, I've learned a few things:
1. I'm a better writer today than when I started, because I've had lots of practice since then. there's still room for improvement, for instance, my sentences tend to be a little more complicated than they need to be at times, but I'm learning and improving.
2. When I started, I knew that I wanted to talk about skepticism, atheism and politics, but my ideas were (and are) still forming. Over time my point of view sharpened and the focus of my blog became more about the intersection of religion and politics, and even more recently my focus has become ever more local. But though my focus is local, the scope of the issues I examine is global. Globalocal, if you will.
Focusing on local issues has allowed me the pleasure of meeting tons of awesome people here in Rhode Island who feel the way I do on religion and politics, or who are at least willing to support my right to hold the views I do. These people have become friends and allies, and my life and my thinking has been enriched from contact with them.
3. I started this blog before my niece, Jessica Ahlquist, got involved with the Cranston Prayer Banner issue. That became a big part of my life for a while, not only documenting the behavior of the minority of Cranston Christians who showed up at school board meetings and behaved poorly, but also stepping into the public sphere in a bigger way than I ever intended to as I wrote articles in her defense.
4. I started this blog before co-founding Humanists of Rhode Island, a group that is not only very important to me, but that has proven itself effective in countering abuses of church/state violations. Ours is one of the few groups brave enough to directly challenge the religious majority in this state on issues of real importance, and I hope to continue doing so in the future. The friends I have made through this group are amazing, and my life would be far emptier without them.
5. I've expanded my writing. I occasionally write pieces for RI Future, a local progressive blog. I've begun two serialized novels on JukePop. This has launched me into a full time, low paying writing career.
As this blog continues into the future, with the first of my next thousand posts coming soon, I will be broadening the scope of the blog even as I further tighten its focus. I will be expanding beyond the purely local stories, to express my opinions about Humanism, atheism, religion, economics, progressivism and science. I want to cover the kind of issues and tackle those problems that stand in the way between where humanity is today, and to where we can be in the future.
Looking forward I will start doing some public speaking engagements, which I will start promoting here as soon as I have hard dates and locations. Also, I've never publicly debated anyone, but I'd love to give it a try sometime.
I have adopted a new Code of Ethics and Behavior to help guide and clarify my role as a blogger and citizen journalist. The Code of Ethics and Behavior will serve to remind me of important principles about the kind of blogging I do. It will serve as a check on my honesty.
Thank you to my readers who have joined me so far. I encourage you to comment and to engage with me through this blog or through my email. If you live in or around Rhode Island consider joining the Humanists of Rhode Island, the best damn Humanist organization in the world.
1. I'm a better writer today than when I started, because I've had lots of practice since then. there's still room for improvement, for instance, my sentences tend to be a little more complicated than they need to be at times, but I'm learning and improving.
2. When I started, I knew that I wanted to talk about skepticism, atheism and politics, but my ideas were (and are) still forming. Over time my point of view sharpened and the focus of my blog became more about the intersection of religion and politics, and even more recently my focus has become ever more local. But though my focus is local, the scope of the issues I examine is global. Globalocal, if you will.
Focusing on local issues has allowed me the pleasure of meeting tons of awesome people here in Rhode Island who feel the way I do on religion and politics, or who are at least willing to support my right to hold the views I do. These people have become friends and allies, and my life and my thinking has been enriched from contact with them.
3. I started this blog before my niece, Jessica Ahlquist, got involved with the Cranston Prayer Banner issue. That became a big part of my life for a while, not only documenting the behavior of the minority of Cranston Christians who showed up at school board meetings and behaved poorly, but also stepping into the public sphere in a bigger way than I ever intended to as I wrote articles in her defense.
4. I started this blog before co-founding Humanists of Rhode Island, a group that is not only very important to me, but that has proven itself effective in countering abuses of church/state violations. Ours is one of the few groups brave enough to directly challenge the religious majority in this state on issues of real importance, and I hope to continue doing so in the future. The friends I have made through this group are amazing, and my life would be far emptier without them.
5. I've expanded my writing. I occasionally write pieces for RI Future, a local progressive blog. I've begun two serialized novels on JukePop. This has launched me into a full time, low paying writing career.
As this blog continues into the future, with the first of my next thousand posts coming soon, I will be broadening the scope of the blog even as I further tighten its focus. I will be expanding beyond the purely local stories, to express my opinions about Humanism, atheism, religion, economics, progressivism and science. I want to cover the kind of issues and tackle those problems that stand in the way between where humanity is today, and to where we can be in the future.
Looking forward I will start doing some public speaking engagements, which I will start promoting here as soon as I have hard dates and locations. Also, I've never publicly debated anyone, but I'd love to give it a try sometime.
I have adopted a new Code of Ethics and Behavior to help guide and clarify my role as a blogger and citizen journalist. The Code of Ethics and Behavior will serve to remind me of important principles about the kind of blogging I do. It will serve as a check on my honesty.
Thank you to my readers who have joined me so far. I encourage you to comment and to engage with me through this blog or through my email. If you live in or around Rhode Island consider joining the Humanists of Rhode Island, the best damn Humanist organization in the world.
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