Army officer bashing/minsunderstanding atheism/patriotism

So the story is this army guy tells a lie for the Bush administration. Apparently he is a Christian. So when he starts being questioned about his lie (a specially non Christian action) he gets defensive and:

Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."

Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans' religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, "I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know." source

It always bugs me when people make incorrect statements, but this one is a common one, and I gather Kauzlarich isn't much of a mind (or a good Christian for that matter). If you don't believe in an afterlife your life is much more valuable! Humans don't really value microseconds since they pass rather quickly, but what is your 80 earth years compared to all eternity? (I wonder if a lying Christian is "gooder" than a truthful atheist...)

But more importantly the fact that he says good Christians would have more faith in government I think is very insightful to a large chunk (perhaps the 30% or so who still think Bush i doing a great job) think are "good" Americans: Government = my Christian faith = good. This isn't just a problem for atheists, but is also a problem for other faiths and Christians who can read the newspaper and make small inferences about cause and effect! Since Bush is in office for another 1.5 years, I think the bets thing to hope for is the amount of atheism towards Government religion goes up too (and if real atheism goes up too, I'll welcome my new intellectually honest brethren).

Great progress ending injustice

Well the one school system campaign has hit a fevered pitch and it is looking great! So far six school boards have adopted one school system motions and the issue is catching on. Reporters have been asking the political heads questions and editorials have been blasting there responses. It's pretty easy once you know even a little about the situation (public Catholic schools are inherently discriminatory and privilege a single faith above all others and the duplication costs us hundreds of millions of dollars per year etc...). Our newspaper writings have become much more frequent since the newspapers are finding there is a huge audience for this topic and even radio shows have taken it on!

Even better, one of the important pieces to solve this problem has fallen into place: The Ontario Green Party has announced their education policy includes a move to one secular* school system! This means we have the Tories who say that the system is unfair so well give money to the rich people who send their children to private religious schools, the Liberals and the NDP who simply ignore the UN rulings, obvious facts and common sense defending the status quo and the Greens who have a policy that is fiscally responsible, fair, and will end this discrimination! Even if they don't win they have raised the issue and something must be done.

*by Secular, I mean: Secularity (adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from organized religion.


Update: Explosive Revelations about Homosexual Teachers in Canadian Catholic Schools
Why do I care? I certainly have nothing against homosexuals. It's because this leaves two great possibilities. The first is that these teachers are fired a move that shows how unjust the PUBLIC Catholic system is (a corporation can't fore a person for being gay but the government can?!?, but I would feel bad about the teacher's job loss). Or they will do nothing which (wrongly) would erode the stanch defenders of the system's will and improve on the homophobia in the system. Boy what timing!!

Being a dad and life changes

I am incredibly excited about being a dad and I can't wait to meet my little one (I often bug Bonnie about why it's taking so long). Oddly (or I think it is odd), I'm not at all nervous about it. Maybe it's because I grew up in a close family and I was the oldest so I know about what to expect. I think my primary concerns lay with after graduation. Looking for a post doc isn't like looking for a job, it's like looking for a long lost relative. The space of possibilities isn't very big but it is dizzyingly complex since it depends on area of work, geography and grant situation of your prospective employer. So it may be that I'm just too concentrated on uprooting my Toronto life and moving to another place for a two year post doc that has over shadowed my baby worries. With the baby I know what to expect, but with starting a (temporary) life somewhere else I don't. Hopefully the Calgary conference in June will let me narrow down my choices and make things a little more predictable.

As for the responsibility I am also not worried since I did all the worrying for my dog. See I was reluctant to get a dog (despite loving doggies) because of the responsibility. I was doing my research at home and some days spent it reading and working in my underwear. A dog would need to be walked, played with etc and since Bonnie didn't work at home a lot of it would be on me. Finally we got Emily after I accepted I would take on this responsibility, and I took it seriously. She is now far beyond the perfect dog and is my buddy. To the point where I lobby city hall to allow dogs on outdoor patios so we can eat out with her in the summer. now a dog is not a child but it's not the work that was ever the issue it was the responsibility which was my initial reluctance when Bonnie brought it up. But now having accepted it I have only enthusiasm!
Stay tuned to fined out if it is a Merrisa or an Alexander!

Old religious indoctrination

It's amusing and annoying when older people find out my wife is pregnant. Most ask a similar question: are you going to get married now? Considering I'm wearing an atheist button on my coat and they know what I think about religion, I can't help but wonder how much social conditioning from TV and society they must have undergone. It's like they have been ingrained with the idea once you get pregnant you get married. Some even suggested we go to a civil ceremony. I guess it is from an age when ceremony was big. If I am by myself it is funnier since people then ask what if your wife wants to get wed? HA!! They don't know her very well! If she wanted to get married we'd not have lasted this long (going on 10 years). We've been together longer than most married couples and still like spending time together so from our perspective the world clearly has it wrong! Imagine after 10 years going out together and laughing, joking and having a great time all while doing something completely mundane like groceries! So my usual quip is, "don't fix what ain't broken."

Then of course there are some who think we would start attending church!?! As if my atheism is a "phase." Such arrogance, but then it been years of social conditioning to make these people think this way so I guess you can't blame them, they don't know any better. Luckily I learned a valuable lesson when I was young: If everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you?