I had a nice afternoon attending the 'Heretic's Barbecue' sponsored by CVASS. My good buddy Richard had a good assortment of food on hand, and both he and Mark had a nice presentation on the strange world of ghost hunters in the Fresno area:
After that, we had a few giggles making our own UFO photos:
Some books and other prizes were auctioned off to help defray our expenses, and then there was a business meeting of CVASS that touched on a variety of subjects, among them the impending visit of James Randi to CSU Fresno and the launching of Valley Cafe Scientifique's second season this evening (Monday) at the North India Bar and Grill in Clovis.
Shoot, this event even got some media coverage in the Fresno Bee! So...why am I a bit put off about the whole thing, if I had such a good time? Simply put, it's a little strange how my participation in CVASS was framed in the article. The impression I received from it was something along the lines of, 'this group's not so bad, they even had a Christian participating.' I would've much rather that I had not even been mentioned in the article. Atheists don't require the approval or participation of Christians in order to legitimize themselves as citizens or members of the community. Atheists are citizens, taxpayers, consumers, parents, husbands and wives...in other words, not much different from the other human beings I know.
Everyone of us stands to benefit from cultivating a habit of skepticism, of thinking critically about the claims we will encounter in life. Science education, which is my racket, is not just about developing the next generation of scientists, it's also a means of promoting scientific literacy and critical thinking in the general population. Science may not be the only way of knowing, but scientific literacy leads to citizens, consumers and community members who are better-informed and who are more likely to think critically about things. I would've liked to see more about that, and less about me and what I privately believe. As Rick Warren might've said in a different context, it's not about me.
9/08/2008
IT'S NOT ABOUT ME
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3 comments:
You wrote
...it's a little strange how my participation in CVASS was framed in the article. The impression I received from it was something along the lines of, 'this group's not so bad, they even had a Christian participating.' I would've much rather that I had not even been mentioned in the article. Atheists don't require the approval or participation of Christians in order to legitimize themselves as citizens or members of the community. Atheists are citizens, taxpayers, consumers, parents, husbands and wives...in other words, not much different from the other human beings I know.
How about writing that, slightly edited, as a letter to the editor. That's the kind of sentiment we need to hear from Christians that's needed to shift the 'framing.' It'd mean sticking your neck out some, but it's already out by virtue of you being mentioned in the story.
I'll think about it. Publicly chastising a writer who probably thought they had our best interests at heart may come across as biting the hand that feeds you, and while this blog is public, it's nowhere near as public as a note in the house organ of one's employer. I'm not worried about sticking my neck out personally, I just wouldn't want to do harm to the reputation of CVAAS right after it received the best media coverage in its brief history.
Sorry if I seemed to suggest chastising the writer. I concur that it wouldn't do any good and might do harm. I was thinking more along the lines of
I commend the Bee's coverage of the CVAAS picnic. I've learned that atheists are citizens, taxpayers, consumers, parents, husbands and wives...in other words, not much different from the other human beings I know. While I don't share their (lack of) belief about God, I do share the value placed on thinking critically about the questions of life, excellent science education, and free inquiry, and that came through in your coverage.
I agree that while the 'framing' in the story is unfortunate, one can reinforce the fact of the largely favorable coverage while adding to the message. No way I would want to suggest you embroil yourself with your employer over this. My wife is a high school teacher too, and I know the boundaries. :)
I'm currently sensitized to this because I'm teaching a college seminar on the history of the evolution/creationism controversy, and a significant part of the first class period was spent answering students' questions about how I can be an atheist, how I find meaning in life, where I think I'll go when I die, and so on. Many people don't actually believe that atheists are real complete normal people, in no little part because they don't actually know that they know one or more of us. :)
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